Four students from three local schools competed in the annual Carbon County Oratory Competition on Wednesday at Penn's Peak.

The competition consisted of the speeches: "Checking out Library Cuts" by Katelyn Evans of Panther Valley High School, "Gun Violence: Biting the Bullet" by Sammy Hartz of Weatherly Area High School, "The Power of Optimism" by Gabe Scott of Palmerton High School and "Twins" by Any Hudok of Palmerton High School.Hartz claimed first place with her speech urging listeners to support legislation requiring background checks for anyone wishing to purchase a fire arm."Some people may argue that the increase background checks are a hassle, but those extra couple minutes lost in administering a background check are worthwhile if it saves someone from harming just one person. It is better to lose 10 minutes clearing someone than to see countless lives lost…," said Hartz.The students were accompanied by advisors, Bonnie Tavella of Palmerton High School, Barbara Sipler of Weatherly High School, and Elizabeth Walsh of Panther Valley High School.Students worked with their advisors for months, writing, revising, and practicing their delivery.Walsh said she told her students to "be able to support your information so it's not just an opinion" and Tavella told her students to pick a topic that really enjoy, to slow down and to be confident. Sipler said she reminds her students to keep their gestures natural.The contestants and their speeches were judged on substance, structure, style, bodily expression, vocal expression, and personal qualities by Ed Buckvitz and June Schultz.Buckvitz and Schultz are retired school teachers from the Easton area with strong backgrounds in English and performing arts. Schultz was involved with theatre for thirty years and credited time spent singing and dancing with her theatre group for her strong stage presence. Buckvitz was a director for the Shawnee Little Theatre and is also a performing musician.Prior to the competition, Buckvitz and Schultz said they hope to see a well-articulated speech with a strong development and stressed the importance of voice projection."You have to give the microphone some kind of stimulation in order for it to give you the amplification for the room," said Buckvitz.Schultz said she looks for good body motion during a speech to tell her if the presenter feels confident and comfortable with what he or she is saying.The contestants were allowed to choose any topic they please and there were no restrictions for format or style of presentation. The speech, however, had to be within five to eight minutes in length.Tavella said the freedom in the competition is "…part of the beauty of it. It's interesting to see what they will choose."The student's topic must be original but he or she can incorporate thoughts and words of others if they are properly quoted. Scott's speech on optimism was influenced by Norman Vincent Peale's book, "Discovering the Power of Positive Thinking.""As humans, there are going to be many failures that we stumble upon. It's the way that you get back up and face the next challenge that defines you as a person," said Scott during his speech.Use of the facility was donated by Penn's Peak and a plaque was donated for first place winner by Delrose Awards of Lansford. The event was filmed by Blue Ridge Communications and will be aired several times on Channel 13. Show times can be found on Blue Ridge's website,

www.brctv.com.