Beauty pageant rigged

VEEDERSBURG, Ind. -- A pageant queen at a local fair had her crown and title stripped from her amid claims the contest was rigged by her aunt.

The Fountain County 4-H Council removed the title from Sarah Rice, 18, who was named queen on Saturday. Grievances filed with the council say runner-up Jordan Snoddy, 18, had more points.

Irene Norman, who tabulated the judges' scores, said the results she submitted to officials put Snoddy in first place. "It was blatantly rigged," she said.

Before the results reached the announcer, they passed through several hands, including those of Nyanne Applegate, who is the pageant's director and Rice's aunt.

Applegate could not be reached for comment Thursday by the Journal Review of Crawfordsville.

She previously said she did not mishandle the results but that in queen pageants, the winner is determined at the judges' discretion.

Pat Beasley, Fountain County 4-H Inc. president, said the point system has been used at the fair for the last five years.