OLD TOWN – Seventh-graders from Leonard Middle School participated in the school’s annual Lincoln-Douglas Debate in early May. Teachers Shelly Tuttle and Misty Burgess worked with students, helping them to research both sides of their assigned topic and to prepare for their individual speaking role.

The project addresses many of the skills required to meet the state’s Learning Results in the areas of language arts and social studies.

Team Triangle topics and scores were:

. “Should cloning be allowed?” Affirmative: 373, Negative: 352.

. “Should humankind invest in the exploration of space?” Affirmative: 365, Negative: 367.

. “Should the use of nuclear weapons be abolished?” Affirmative: 412, Negative: 372.

. “Should animals be used for experimentation and testing of products for the purposes of humankind?” Affirmative: 377, Negative: 387.

. “Should the international community intervene militarily in Darfur?” Affirmative: 406, Negative: 366.

. “Should the United States have entered into war with Iraq?” Affirmative: 372, Negative: 360.

The highest scoring team had a score of 412 – “Should the use of nuclear weapons be abolished?” (Affirmative). Team members were Kelsey Maxim, Josh Fraser and A.J. Pisch.

Awards were presented to students in these categories:

. Best rebuttal, Eddie Gonnella.

. Best cross-examination, Kendra Hayward.

. Best cross-examination response, Kate Keresey.

. Best over-all speaker, April Messier.

. Best constructive, Tyler Lynch, Jami O’Clair, Nick Goater and Vinnie McCullagh.

. Best team players, Jacob Ward and Janine Wheeler.

Team Scorpion topics and scores were:

. “Should the MLTI laptop program continue in grades nine-12?” Affirmative282, Negative: 286.

. “Is homework an important part of education?” Affirmative: 280, Negative: 273.

. “Should job salaries reflect the amount of risk and education involved?” Affirmative: 289, Negative: 284.

. “Should the United States have stricter gun control laws?” Affirmative: 299, Negative: 287.

. “Should there be single-sex schools in education?” Affirmative: 276, Negative: 300.

. “Should Web pages be required to have ratings like movies, games and music?” Affirmative: 278, Negative: 303.

. “Should we end the war in Iraq and bring home the troops?” Affirmative: 273, Negative: 303.

. “Is MySpace safe for kids under age 18?” Red Group – Affirmative: 278, Negative: 317. Blue Group – Affirmative: 306, Negative: 309.

The highest scoring team had a score of 317 – “Is Myspace safe for kids under the age of 18?” Red Group (Negative). Team members were Tyler Barnes, Patrick Quimby and Alexa Dufour.

Awards were presented to students in these categories:

. Best rebuttals, Reid Horton, Ben Smith, Laura Rivers, Mackenzie LaBree.

. Best cross-examinations, Kayla Ward, Cassie Weymouth, Andrea Hamilton, Kyle Dubay, Danielle Magoon, Gina Boucher.

. Best cross-examination responses, Ellie Ksyniak, Patrick Quimby, Steven Vandez, Abby Grindle.

. Best constructive, Kelsey Gifford, Jameson Ploch, Samantha Mills, Sarah White, Alexa Dufour.

Students began the debate process by brainstorming a list of controversial topics and coming to a consensus on topics selected for the debate.