Arts Commission Announces Annual Poetry Contest Winners

The Scotts Valley Arts Commission announced the winners of its annual poetry contest, “Verse in the Valley,” at Wednesday night’s City Council meeting. Poems were read by the victors, runners up and third-place winners in five categories—adults, high school, junior high and elementary school (kindergarten through third grade and fourth through fifth grade).

The winners of this year’s contest will be published together in a book that will go on sale at the Scotts Valley Art & Wine Festival in August.

Here are this year’s winners:

Kindergarten-third grade

First place—Shannon Lussier, “Scarves, Scarves, Scarves”

Second place—Bria Quitzau, “Cats”

Third place—Loren Blazek, “The Thing”

Fourth-fifth grade

First place—Tyler Germany, “Books”

Second place—Amaya Dennis, “Outdoor Choir”

Third place tied—Dakota Nance, “By The Side Of The Sea,” and Eliza Barton, “Songbirds”

Middle school

First place—Mei Manzo, “My One True Love”

Second place—Adrienne Smith, “Blooming Rose”

Third place—Gillian Walch, “Freckles”

High school

First place—Jonathan Powell, “The World's Mask”

Second place—Yvette Carruthers, “Repeat”

Third place—Phoebe McHale-Beitnes, “Go Back In Time”

Adult

First place—Nancy Hoffman, “First Light”

Second place—Donna Kannall, “Move Right Over, Ode To My Lover”

Third place—Brenda Hawley, “The Santa Cruz Mountains, Our First Teacher”

Class Poem

Mrs. Dettle's fourth- and fifth-grade science class at Vine Hill Elementary School, “Weather”