Oneonta seventh-grader Daanya Butt was declared champion of the 20th annual Daily Star Regional Spelling Bee on Saturday, March 19, 2022. Fellow competitor Emily Menzies, an eighth grade student at Cooperstown Central School, kept pace with Daanya throughout the competition. In the 15th round, she misspelled ostensibly, leaving the door open for Daanya to win the competition on her next word. Butt spelled quittance correctly in the 16th round and won the competition, which was held in the Goodrich Theater on the SUNY Oneonta campus. Daanya competed at the  in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in National Harbor, Maryland, on May of 2022.   

The Daily Star covers the registration fee for all schools in the Otsego Northern Catskill and Delaware-Chenango-Montgomery-Otsego region to compete at the regional level and for the champion to compete at the national level,  Along with other local sponsors, The Daily Star covers the cost of the  the round-trip transportation, meals stipend, and lodging costs for the champion and an adult chaperone to attend. Daily Star Advertising Director Valerie Secor said the paper looks forward to the spelling bee every year.  The support from the Daily Star makes this program possible for all the region's schools.   The 2023 Regional Spelling Bee Competition has been scheduled for Saturday January 14th at the SUNY Oneonta's Goodrich Theater beginning at 10:00 am.  The public is invited to watch the competition.  Family and friends are encouraged to participate in the event to cheer and support the participants.