True North tops Jeopardy tournament play Tuesday
(Talk of the Town photos by Jennifer Zartman Romano) Team True North, above, left the first night of Peabody-Kiwanis Jeopardy as champions. From left is Monty Lightner, Faye Jagger and Scott Metzger.
By Jennifer Zartman Romano
The 2009 Peabody-Kiwanis Jeopardy tournament kicked off last night in the lower level of the Peabody Public Library.
This year’s first round of contestants were by no means newbies. 
Team Triple Threat, comprised of Denver Saylor, Marcia Carter and Julia Carter, each had 3-4 years of experience in the tournament. When asked why she has been a participant for the past four years, team member Marcia Carter said, “I’ve got to do something with this useless knowledge in my brain!”
Health Hazards, former tournament champions, returned again this year – marking the fifth year of play for Kay Conn and Gene Conn. Rhonda Kerchner, known affectionately by her fellow teammates as “Shep,” is in her second year of the tournament.
Finally, True North, a team known in prior years as The Great Sotirios, returned for their fourth year. Team members include Monty Lightner, Faye Jagger and Scott Metzger.
In the first round, True North was ahead of the competition until Final Jeopardy when Triple Threat pulled ahead with a whopper of a wager.
In the second round of play, True North got into the lead and stayed there, grasping the first night’s win in the tournament with 11,800 points over Health Hazards with 3700 and Triple Threat with 3500.
True North now qualifies to compete in later brackets of play.
The first round of competition featured an initial glimpse at more than a year’s worth of research by librarian Ray Ranier and Deb Lowrance.
According to Ranier, this year’s contest currently includes eight teams, but they additional teams will be accepted through the next three weeks.
“We’re still hoping for a few more teams,” Ranier said.
Emcee duties this year area again being performed by Greg Hockemeyer and Matt Rentschler. Judges include Deb Lowrance, Frances Brown and Jennifer Zartman Romano. Scorekeepers include Sarah Brenneman and Laura Hull.
Prizes have been provided by a number of local businesses. Last evening, each contestant received a brightly colored bag of popcorn from Kernel Colada’s Snack Shack.
The Jeopardy tournament is open to the community and will be held for the next three weeks on Tuesday evenings from 6:30-8 p.m. in the lower level of the Peabody Public Library.
If you'd like to register a team, contact Ray Ranier or Deb Lowrance at Peabody Public Library by calling 244-5541.