4 The Queens Courier • JUNE 6, 2013 for breaking news visit www.queenscourier.com Photo by Mark Bowen / Scripps National Spelling Bee Arvind Mahankali of Bayside won first place in this year’s Scripps National Spelling Bee. NATIONAL SPELLING CHAMP SAVORS TASTE OF SUCCESS BY MELISA CHAN mchan@queenscourier.com Victory is as savory as a k-n-a-i-d-e-l. Teen whiz Arvind Mahankali tried his first Matzo ball after correctly spelling the above synonym for the dish to win this year’s Scripps National Spelling Bee. “It was actually very good,” said the 13-year-old from Bayside. “It tasted excellent.” Arvind, who swallowed the whole bowl, has been eating up national stardom since his live televised feat on May 30. “There have been some people on the streets in New York City who actually recognized me,” he said. “They say congratulations. It feels weird. It’ll take some time getting used to.” This was the M.S. 74 eighth grader’s fourth and final try at the prestigious contest. He placed third at the last two Bees. “I’m glad that I at least was able to be consistent the past few times,” Arvind said. “All I wanted this time was to get to the finals.” He exceeded that goal, beating 281 contestants and winning more than $30,000 in cash and prizes. Arvind has been on an endless media tour since he took home first place. “There have been a lot of interviews,” he said the night before being honored back to back by his school and Mayor Michael Bloomberg. “It’s actually been somewhat tiring. I haven’t had the opportunity to just rest.” Not that he is used to resting. Arvind started prepping for this year’s spelling bee almost immediately after being booted from the competition last year, when the German-based word “schwannoma,” meaning a type of cancer, eliminated him. He would come home from school, finish his homework and read the dictionary as long as four hours a night until lights out, according to his mother. “I’m very proud of him,” Bhavani Mahankali said. “He was so composed. He worked so hard.” Studying certainly paid off. The smooth speller had come across his final word “knaidel” before. “All I thought was that I knew this word and that I had to spell it right,” he said. The aspiring physicist will enter Stuyvesant High School next year. His father, Srinivas Mahankali, said the victory was “like a dream come true” for the family. “It’s totally unlike anything,” he said of the national spotlight on his humble son. “The experience so far is unbelievable. It’s a blessing for us. We’re enjoying the moment right now.” As for studying the dictionary, Arvind is more or less ready to put away his lexicon. “I will sort of miss it,” he said, “but I will have some more free time to study physics and math and play some more tennis.” Walk to raise funds for toddler’s chemo BY MELISA CHAN mchan@queenscourier.com Kimberly Scott’s life changed in March, when doctors discovered a lemon sized tumor in her toddler’s brain. “They said in a week, he would have died if he didn’t have the surgery,” she said. Her 3-year-old son Alex now faces at least six months of aggressive chemotherapy after the cancerous brain tumor was removed. Hundreds in the community Photo Courtesy of the Parks Department Photo Courtesy of Kimberly Scott Alex Scott, 3, was diagnosed with a brain tumor in March. Officials cut the ribbon to the borough’s newest amusement park at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. New amusement park offers Queens kids kicks BY MELISA CHAN mchan@queenscourier.com Queens youngsters took the borough’s first roller coaster for a spin last week during the grand opening of a new amusement park at Flushing Meadows- Corona Park. The park “has been one of Queens’ premier recreation destinations ever since its creation for the 1939 World’s Fair,” said Park Administrator Janice Melnick. Fantasy Forest opened up its five rides, including the iconic Flushing Meadows Carousel, during a ribbon cutting ceremony on May 29. Officials said the classic ride, made by merging two Coney Island carousels, was originally created for the 1963-1964 World’s Fair. It is the largest carousel in Queens. “We are excited to provide this family attraction, the only amusement park in Queens, to the family and people of Queens,” said Director Ami Abramson of NY Carousel, which runs the merry-go-rounds at Forest Park and Flushing Meadows. Fantasy Forest is located at 111th Street and 55th Avenue. It is open daily at 11 a.m. through August and will stay open on select days in September and October. For park hours and pricing, visit www. fantasyforestnyc.com. will come together at Kissena Park Lake to “Walk for Alex” on June 8. They will raise money to help pay for some of Alex’s medical expenses as the Flushing family tries to bring order back into their lives. The walk begins at 10 a.m. this Saturday, with registration opening an hour in advance. “It’s amazing how the community steps up,” said Kimberly Scott, 39. “I haven’t been able to work at all and my husband works intermittently. This helps us out fantastically until we get back on a good work schedule.” The Scotts, who have two young sons, were billed $49,000 for the surgery alone. They do not know how much of that will be covered by insurance. They are also facing fees for hospital stays and chemo. “How our life was before is how we want to keep it now,” said Scott, a medical assistant. “I don’t want to have to sell my son’s Wii so I can pay the Con Edison bill.” The mother of one of Alex’s classmates organized the walk, which has also received support from the Knights of Columbus, the International Nursery School and a number of charities. The groups hope to raise at least $5,000. “I called her crying and thanked her so much,” Scott said. While Alex suffers painful mouth and stomach sores, his mother said he has shown great perseverance. “He should be having problems with speech, and he doesn’t,” Scott said. “He should be having weakness, but he doesn’t. He’s defying all the laws of cancer.” Alex also has a huge postsurgery scar on his head, but does not have to worry about it so much since his father got an identical tattoo on his head. “To me, that was the sweetest thing a father could do,” Kimberly Scott said. “Alex didn’t like everyone looking at him. He’s never going to be the only person with this thing on his head. Daddy will always have one too.”
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