Mika Ishii, the 14-year-old geography whiz kid from Hawaii, placed 11th in the country at the 2016 National Geographic Bee in Washington, D.C.

She was the last competitor eliminated in a tie-breaker round after the preliminaries Monday, just missing the top 10. Twelve-year-old Rishi Nair of Florida came out on top in the final round Wednesday.

Mika, an eighth-grader at Kaimuki Middle School, was Hawaii’s state champion four times, starting in fourth grade. She was the only contestant from Hawaii at this year’s national bee for the fourth time.

The competition, open to students in grades four through eight, is designed to inspire students to be curious about the world. The field began with 2.5 million contestants at 11,000 schools. One representative of each of the 50 states plus four from overseas territories vied for the national title.

“These kids aren’t just smart; they care about the world,” said Mo Rocca, the journalist and humorist who hosted the competition at National Geographic headquarters.

Big Isle names interim leader of Civil Defense

Hawaii County officials announced this week that former state Civil Defense Vice Director Ed Teixeira has been appointed to serve as the county’s interim Civil Defense administrator.

Teixeira’s service began Tuesday, filling the spot vacated by Darryl Oliveira, who retired in early May, the county said in a news release.

Teixeira, an Oahu native who is now a Hawaii island resident, bought a home in Waimea in 1989 while stationed at Pohakuloa Training Area. He also has family ties to Honohina, where hismother was raised.

A retired Army colonel who served 26 years, Teixeira began with state Civil Defense in 1996 and was named vice director in 1999. He retired from the agency in 2011. He then taught atChaminade University and also worked as a disaster preparedness and planning consultant.

“Ed Teixeira has worked for many years to keep the people of Hawaii island safe in his role at state Civil Defense,” Mayor Billy Kenoi said in a written statement. “We welcome his expertiseand leadership at the helm of Hawaii County Civil Defense.”

Teixeira thanked the mayor for giving him the opportunity to serve the people of Hawaii County, and praised Oliveira for his “outstanding work” with Civil Defense.

Over the last few years, Oliveira guided the island through Tropical Storm Iselle, the Puna lava flow and a local dengue outbreak.