The Antelope Valley Times

Your community. Your issues. Your news.

Miss Lancaster relinquishes crown after theft conviction

by •

Miss Lancaster Kelsey Evenson took part in the Lancaster's "Star-Spangled Holiday" parade on Dec. 7. Four days later, Evenson appeared at the Palmdale Sheriff’s Station jail for a judge ordered ‘booking and release” stemming from a petty theft conviction.
Miss Lancaster Kelsey Evenson took part in Lancaster’s “Star-Spangled Holiday” parade on Dec. 7. Four days later, Evenson appeared at the Palmdale Sheriff’s Station jail for a judge ordered ‘booking and release” stemming from a petty theft conviction.

LANCASTER – Miss Lancaster Kelsey Evenson gave up her crown this week after pageant officials became aware of a petty theft conviction that occurred during Evenson’s reign.

The 19-year-old voluntarily resigned her title on Wednesday, said Sandy Smith, CEO of the Lancaster Chamber of Commerce, which oversees the Miss Lancaster pageant.

Evenson was crowned Miss Lancaster in April 2013, and she was arrested for shoplifting at a local Macy’s in June 2013. Evenson was charged with one count of petty theft on Aug. 6, 2013, according to court records.

She appeared in an Antelope Valley courtroom on Aug. 19 and pleaded no contest (which has the same effect as a guilty plea).

According to court records, Evenson was placed on 36 months summary probation, ordered to pay fines totaling $906, and ordered to stay away from all Macy’s stores. Evenson was also sentenced to serve one day in county jail. In lieu of the day in county jail, Evenson was granted the option to submit to a judge ordered “booking and release” by Dec. 16, court records show.

Evenson appeared at the Palmdale Sheriff’s Station jail on Dec. 11, was booked (photographed and fingerprinted) at 11:16 a.m., and was released from custody around 3:45 p.m., according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

As of Thursday, Evenson had released no formal statement on the matter. She continued to carry out her duties as Miss Lancaster up until her resignation this week.  The Lancaster Chamber Board became aware of Evenson’s criminal conviction on Friday, Jan. 10, and they were dealing with the matter internally, Smith said.

The petty theft conviction was a grain of truth in the many defamatory statements and threats being made against Evenson via social media, Smith said. She said a group of disgruntled pageant moms had been cyberbullying Evenson for months and stalking her at various city events. Smith said Evenson has shown “remarkable strength” in dealing with the “constant attacks.”

“The [Chamber] Board and myself, we think a lot of Kelsey. She’s a really good girl who made a bad decision…” Smith said. “It’s unfortunate the way she was publicly humiliated and bullied. We’re all very sad about that.”

The Miss Lancaster position will remain vacant until April, when a new Miss Lancaster is selected, Smith said.

–

90 comments for "Miss Lancaster relinquishes crown after theft conviction"

  2. Leave her alone and let her get on with her life. Most of the people in the AV are hypocrites anyway. Ledford is still mayor and he has a drunk driving conviction.

  3. I believe in Kelsey, not only because she is my niece but also because she tells the truth, tries to do her best and does not do negative acts.

    • petty theft is a negative. to steal or not to steal good people dont steal. now if she feels the need to say that she is changed and never steals till death then…….we can only state the facts after the fact.

  5. I feel for Kelsey just because of how humiliating this all is. I went to middle school with her and while I always thought she was “fake” and very entitled, this must suck.
    I’m 19 also and can’t imagine being in her shoes.

    No way am I excusing behavior because of age, but I do think our justice system needs reform. Teenagers making mistakes and being irresponsible, should not follow them for the rest of their lives. The judge should have gave her a fine and community service and dropped the charge.

    • Did you ever have a pencil disappear in middle school? Did Kelsey suddenly have a new, identical pencil to the one you lost!??!!? I want answers! A formal investigation is needed!!!

    • Guilt by association.. SMH.. that’s it.. but people still brought out the pitch forks and torches. Keep it classy A.V.

    • It was painful to listen to these so called hosts coddle the beauty queen. So Miss Lancaster said she did not steal but she was with someone who did. And for the rest of the show, one of the hosts continues to stress “SHE DIDN’T DO ANYTHING!!”

      Um, sorry buddy. Yes she did. If she didn’t do anything, why plead no contest? And who is this phantom accomplice? Why didn’t the beauty queen know the outcome of her accomplice’s case? And finally, why should we believe the word of a convicted thief. After all, isn’t this the same person who admittedly kept this info. (AKA lied!) from her parents and the pageant officials for months? Failing then to honor the terms of her pageant contract? But because she now says she didn’t steal anything, we should believe it as fact? Hook, line and sinker? SMH!

      The icing on the cake was when the hosts began bullying the women who supposed bullied Miss Lancaster. They even called one of the ladies by name, accused her of having no life and of being stupid and they said what she did was “retarded”. Ugh!! Such bull crap!

      • Good afternoon Letlow, this is one of the so called hosts. Not that I need to justify myself, but I had the arrest report in my hand. I was not going by her word alone. There were no charges of public intoxication on that report and the Lancaster Chamber acted within five minutes of receiving word of her arrest. So the stories of her being arrested for being drunk in public and the chamber covering things up were lies. I can’t feel a great deal empathy for people who try to hurt others. Does calling someone out on a lie make one a bully? I’m assuming you have a life, do you have the time to make things up and run all over town spreading it? If you have any more tips on how to be a so called host please enlighten me personally. You, or anyone reading this, can reach me at 661-266-4420 any weekday at 8:00 AM. I would love for you to coach me on how to be better at what I do. And please tell me when I can listen to your show, I’m sure I could learn a thing or two from that as well.

        • What is this public intoxication accusation that everyone keeps harping on?? No where in the above article does it address that. We are talking about a THEFT CONVICTION. I’m assuming you’re the host who kept saying “SHE DIDN’T STEAL ANYTHING!” based on nothing but the queen’s claim that the person she was with was the real thief. Does the police report actually say there was an accomplice who did the stealing? If not, then you have no proof of Miss Lancaster’s claim! After all, wasn’t SHE the one who pleaded to a petty theft charge?

          It seems that smoke screens continue to be tossed up. First the queen handlers tried to smoke screen the theft by saying the queen was bullied. Now you try to smoke screen the theft conviction by saying there were no charges of public intoxication, when I did not say there was. My benchmark for a bad host is one does all the talking. You guys did all the talking, continuing to give her excuses and asking and answered your questions at the same time. Case in point, you guys asked her why she didn’t own up to her mistake sooner, and before she could answer, the woman host said “Well I’m sure she felt blah blah blah…” thereby giving her an out. To top it off, you guys found fault with the justice system that convicted her of a charge that SHE herself pleaded to.

          I wanted to her Miss Lancaster’s side in this scandal, but I was disappointed in your interview because it was a side that YOU gave her. You have found a skeptical fan in me though. Let me know when your show airs again and I will be sure to tune in, I might even call and offer a dissenting opinion or two.

          • Please do call. I’m sorry I was snarky. Steve was the one who did most of the talking today. And Angelina is the female host. I do not condone theft. If she stole the item(s) she’s accused of then I’m glad she was arrested. If it was an “accomplice” then I hope she has learned a lesson about with whom she spends time. However it went down she has been punished. Yes, she should have let people know right away. I can’t argue with you on any of that. It was a series of stupid choices that lead to her trouble with the law. What I had a problem with was what you called the smoke screens. There were people who made things up and dog piled on her. That is what I am taking issue with. If someone commits a crime then by all means they should be punished, which she was. What’s done is done. Let her be.
            We are on 1380 AM Monday through Friday starting at 8:00 AM. Please do call and beat me up a little, I need to be kept in line from time to time and you might be just the one to do it. Sorry again about the attitude before.
            Jeff

          • Hey! Thanks for responding. No offense taken. I will tune into your show. I will surely call in and sound off if something ruffles my thin feathers.

          • One question……if she didn’t steal anything, why did she have to pay $146 to Macy’s for restitution and why is she banned from all Macy’s? One would assume that a news program host would read the actual court report before having the person on their show. I’ve read the report. The report from the courthouse clearly states all of the fees that she had to pay, and it was over $1,000. It also says she plead No Contest. If you were just an innocent bystander, why plead out? Plus, your mayor is a well known attorney. Why not ask for his help and guidance? Attorney/client privilege would be in effect and the Mayor would not be able to discuss the case with anyone. Lastly, the incident happened in June. She robbed the first runner up of the Miss Lancaster pageant the opportunity to be Miss Lancaster, participate in the Fair and the Miss AV pageant. Had she not covered up her actions, I would have a lot more respect for her.

    • First of all this bullying by so called host of a radio show is ridiculous.
      Second but i’m sorry guilty by association and getting arrested for that is complete bullsh*t…
      Kelsey had to pay Macy’s $146 restitution and the rest was all court fines and fees. You as hosts say you have a snap shot of what was said about the public intoxication but what you didnt have was this lady correcting herself and said it was shoplifting. So get the stories correct before you start BASHING on some women that you know NOTHING about!!!!! The reason I know so much about this situation is because these women are friends of mine. Talk about Slander and deformation of character like for instance ” Oh they probably sit back and collect welfare checks” I swear people just love having their names in the press or radio . especially announcing it on twitter saying OMG I WAS JUST ON THE RADIO!!! These people are just pissed off because the truth came out.! Get over it move on old news.

      • So glad that you are “friends” with these women. Good for you. Now, about the public intoxication comments–once you put this type of nonsense on Facebook and you put it out there to the public for over a week, the damage is done. No retraction that you post is going to undo the damage and humiliation that you caused. The word spreads like a cancer and Kelsey is left with having to defend herself against these slanderous comments for months to come simply because people didn’t check the facts before they pounced on her like crazy hyenas. My advice is to just let it go and get on with your lives. It is obvious that there are a few lonely, unfulfilled folks who simply cannot find anything better to do than to continue beating a dead horse. It’s obvious that these women have been exposed for the harm they caused with their lies and that the humiliation and the over-the-top way that they chose to completely annihilate her was not quite enough to make them happy. It’s a shame that you choose to keep trying to bash Kelsey. Let it go. Just let it go.

  7. Many of the “facts” from the initial theft incident have been omitted. Everyone makes mistakes, albeit I don’t condone theft, this story has been blown completely out of proportion and was more of a guilty by association than her actually stealing. I find it interesting that this took place many months ago, yet has been brought to light by a group of adults who have nothing better do to than harass a young adult because she was crowned over their own children.

  8. I’m glad that she was held accountable for her actions! Had the picture been different the replt recommendations would not have been so supportive of her crime. “Got wrapped up?” She is a grown woman making grown decisions to be a thief, how is that acceptable? I hope that she learns from her mistake, makes better decisions in the future and moves on from this. But she should not be a representative of our community!

  9. I can’t understand it…. 99% of the replies to this very poorly thought-out article are talking about her crime was “no big deal”…

    Has everyone forgotten that whomever is Miss Lancaster is supposed to be a positive role model for younger kids? How exactly is shoplifting something costing over $900 “no big deal” in the eyes of an 7 year-old?

    WAKE-UP!

  10. Since they like to censor replies on here I will try again…my response to a previous statement made by a “Mary” on January 18th @4:21 pm to my post is that 2 wrongs never make a right!…She got caught…she went to court…she stood before a judge…she received punishment…she gave up her crown…end of story…quit beating a dead horse into the ground…like I said before I am not privy to some of the information that seems to be insinuated on here as I know none of the parties involved and have based all of my opinions on the two different stories that were run about the situation…move on with your lives and for me personally I would love to read the next story about the adult woman being charged with bullying and slander and perhaps slapped with some restraining orders! To many people are getting away with this type of nonsense every day on these social media sites and it needs to be stopped just as much as those who commit petty theft!

  11. I wish everyone would stop calling this a mistake. She knew exactly what she was doing was wrong, but did it anyways. had this been my daughter, I would have made her tell the truth right away and had her step down immediately. Then again, I would never subject my child to something so archaic as a beauty pageant.

    Stop enabling a person by telling them that what they did can be attributed to youth as well.

  12. Ummm, this whole valley is corrupt. Every agency, school board, MAYOR( think ex-meth dealer), ….. Get out while you can.

  14. I don’t get why so many people keep saying how “beautiful” this girl is. Are you saying that because she’s pretty, she’s supposed to be a good person and that it’s okay? “Oh she’s beautiful, $900 isn’t that big of a deal!” This girl didn’t make a mistake. Stealing $900 worth of merchandise isn’t a mistake, that is 100% a choice. And the fact that she tried hiding it speaks to her true character. I’d have a lot more respect for her as a person if she had owned up to her choices when it happened. Instead though, she waited until other people found out and she got caught. This girl, no matter how young or “beautiful,” got everything she deserved.

    • Just curious once again where you got the $ amount on the merchandise she stole…I never saw any report to the actual dollar amount? I’m sure you would also agree that the adults who were “cyber-bullying” her will also get their day in court and what they deserve too…right?

      • My daughter was involved in a Miss Lancaster pageant years ago. It was shocking how much mean things that were said and done to other contestants by the “Mom’s”
        So much maneuvering to get their daughter a boost up! This pageant is about young women representing our community! Shame on you “Mom’s” that were responsible for the slandering and who knows what else! Wonder if your daughters are proud of you and your actions?
        Your not the Judge of what Kelsey did or did not do, nor are you involved in her punishment!

        • Miss Lancaster shoplifting or being with someone who was shoplifting is nothing COMPARED to what many girl her age are doing. Drugs, drinking, prostitution, sexting. Doesn’t make what she did any better, but, she just happened to get caught.
          The Moms talking crap need to be beech slapped! Shame on them. Bullies!

          • Funny how you justify crime for some…of course there are different levels of crime…but she’s a THIEF!!! maybe she should go around stealing with her crown….it’ll just be cute!! sick!!

      • As far as I’m concerned, if she wants to act like a big, bad grown up and be a thief, then she can accept the “bullying” that came with it. She’s a bad person, not having anything to do with this incident, she’s not a nice girl to begin with, and was an extreme bully when she was in high school. Karma is only a bitch when you are, and guess what? She is.

        • Seems to me that she made the mistake and has faced the consequences, how is it now you or anybody else’s responsibility to teach this girl a further lesson via the internet?

          I’m going to guess you run about three bills large, your daughter lost to this girl and you can’t handle this young skinny girl getting any positive attention that you believe that your daughter….and you…are owed.

          Rejoicing in somebody else’s pain? Watch out for that karma you were spouting off about.

          • Pain she brought on herself…You act like she became ill..Pain?? really? She’s a thief!!! She just got caught!!

          • agree. I hope a parent, let me clarify, grownup parent, wouldn’t be so hateful and vindictive.

  15. Moms are being bully’s??? Leave this poor girl alone! She is merely learning a harsh life lesson. As if the public humiliation isn’t enough? What if YOUR daughter was the one who made the mistake? Would you still throw stones? I can understand her mistake but there is no understanding for mothers to bully this young lady. I mean, really?

  16. My daughter was a community queen a few years ago. I don’t think what she did was right however the public doesn’t understand the pressure these young ladies are under. It’s a shame she has to be publicly humiliated. I’m pretty sure she already received her punishment. It’s not right to steal but it’s like double jeopardy if you ask me. Hopefully she can move forward and not let this event shape who she is capable of becoming. I wish her nothing but luck with her future. People shouldn’t be so quick to judge. My daughter had a wonderful time serving her community but if this was my child I would be sad to read some of these comments. My heart goes out to her.

  18. Pageant moms are the dregs of society. These moms are rabid in their hate and vitriol for other kids. Your kid didn’t win so you spew hate towards a young lady who made a mistake?

    There is a special circle of hell for these ferrel hogs.

  19. Wow really they act like she killed someone. People make mistakes its pretty messed up how she had to resign over a petty crime like that. Most people have stolen in their life only difference is they didnt get caught. And for those mothers bullying her and stalking her “Grow the [removed] up and deal with the fact that she looks better then your daughter”

  20. It always amazes me when we are shocked and disappointed when children and young people do the wrong things but look at the mayor of Lancaster who routinely engages in questionable behavior and a lot of church people support him anyway. She’s young and learning the ‘rules of the road’, so to speak but WHAT’S HIS EXCUSE?

    What’s wrong with this picture?

    • Unfortunately, in this day and society, any act of “crime” (regardless, how small or large) can no longer be seen as an accident. Its a scarlet letter, one that you can’t shake. I made a “mistake” when I was 18, served my time, completed my punishment without a problem, and 8 years later, without an additional offense, it still follows me.

      This girl is about to have a very long and hard road to finding any semblance of a normal life. Like I said below though, absolutely beautiful girl. I’d be more than willing to sit and discuss what obstacles the future will bring her.

      • It’s a shame that because of her title, she’ll give more widespread negative publicity than any other young person her age.

        My point was mainly that we’ve all seen it happen so often that ‘grownups’ who should know better are more easily forgiven than young people who may be scarred for life. The so called ‘grownups’ seem better able to ‘work the system’.

        I’m no fan of Justin Bieber but consider all the bad press he gets for being a ‘delinquent’ while a much older Charlie Sheen has made a career out it to much acclaim from his fans. Ugh!

        Upside-down world.

      • My daughter did the same thing, 3 years ago at age 18. She completed all of her punishment and paid off her fines. She has not gotten into any more trouble but she has a terrible time getting a job. These are the consequences of this mistake !

  21. Maybe we should do away with these archaic and demeaning pageants once and for all? If you want young women to “inspire” other young women, run college graduates and successful women in different fields by our city’s young girls. What the hell does looks, a ridiculously large shining “hat” and evening gowns got to do with inspiring anyone?

    • Too bad she has no character ;the beauty can go in an instant, leaving what?
      This is an obsolete ritual that is not necessary to society in any way.
      Nine hundred dollars is a lot of stealing, not like taking a lipstick.

      • Just curious where you got the $ amount of the crime in question?…I didn’t see it in any of the stories being published?…and if it wasn’t lipstick what was it because that’s a lot of loot?

        • Db,that was reported in the AVPress article today,also that she states she herself did not steal anything but was with someone who did so was an accomplice.

          • Just read story in AV Press…I see no mention of $ amount of merchandise stolen? Correct me if I am wrong?

      • The queen couldn’t have stolen $900 worth of stuff, then that would be grand theft not petty. You probably got the $900 from the total amount in fines she has to pay, but that includes court costs and a bunch of other crap. I read the AV Press article too. They played up the bullying angle big time and made the petty thief beauty queen the victim. Shame on them!

        • She had to pay fines and fees of $906 on top of restitution to Macys and can never go into any Macys again..Go to the courthouse the criminal line at window ask for arrest record of kelsey evenson age 19..pay a $1 it’s yours. Then read it thoroughly. . It will tell you when it happened and how long that this so called professional woman at this chamber of commerce LIED about this for months..Yes someone commented that mom was friends with chamber which is SO TRUE they ARE best friends..they were in on it together all along! The chamber of commerce is ONLY a business that works in the City of Lancaster it’s not the City’s fault. It’s ALL on the woman Sandy, Kelsey and Kelseys Mom.. The only reason Kelsey resigned is because someone found out about the arrest and if you knew the community queen Miss rules you would know that anything that if a queen does something unbecoming to a community queen she shall give up her title, sash and ALL scholarships
          Which she definitely did NOT do! This Sandy character supposedly a professional LIED to ALL of Lancaster and she MUST RESIGN her position IMMEDIATELY! Thank you.

          • With all the lies that have been flying back and forth, this is hardly believable. There were accusations of public intoxication, indications that she committed grand theft, and now there is a “cover up”. All untrue, but it makes for good drama for people with small lives. Ladies (and your names will be revealed soon), just let it go. You are continuing to mount more and more evidence against yourself with each move you make. You will have your day in court, mark my words.

          • And what exactly is revealing names going to do? they posted facts on an open forum about a totally public posting brought forth by this sandy person when it could have been simply dealt with in house (Months Ago) but now has made it something that was in the pageant arena so to speak and blasted the person she is now defending for making a mistake in her life. As ALL people do they make a mistake hopefully learn from it and move on. She has a lot to learn from this experience and I pray she does but giving her a reason, An Out by defending what she did is not going to help her. there is a big difference between bullying and insisting that someone owns up the mistakes they have made. I was told now that the defenders are now threatening retaliation on people for stating their opposition claiming to use there non existent power to create some pretty lawsuits against them. Let it die and go away let her deal with it in the way she needs to. not blasted by the people trying to protect her.

          • Me- So you had nothing better to do than to drive clear over to the courthouse, stand in line and pay for the arrest report for some girl who beat out your kid in a pageant? Surely you then got in the phone/internet to tell anybody and everybody all the sordid details along with your self righteous indignation.

            If there is anybody with a motive to twist facts and to lie, it’s you. Like all have said, this girl made a huge mistake that she owned up to in a court of law.

            Whatever her consequences are, she has dealt with and will be dealing with them. I don’t blame her or anybody one bit for not running out to throw her to you and your pack of hyenas as it’s not just sad that you don’t have a fulfilling life, it’s even sadder that your pleasure only seems to come in seeing others misery.

  23. There are two separate issues at play here. One: This queen admitted to stealing and was convicted but didn’t see it fit to notify the pageant people until nearly the end of her term. That speaks to ethics and moral character not befitting of a role model and community queen. THAT WAS WRONG!

    The second and separate issue is that grown folks bullied this young girl. That is wrong as well, but that should not be used as an excuse to somehow forgive the queen for the theft conviction and not owning up to the mistake sooner so that the first runner up could take her rightful place. Unless someone BULLIED Miss Lancaster into stealing and covering it up, I don’t see how the bullying played any role in her indiscretion and her failure to come forward sooner. The queen and the queen handlers are making excuses for the negative behavior, just as we see with every criminal. SMH!

  24. I am a former community queen, and let me tell ya, it’s a shame what has became of the pageant system. Today,it is truly all about money and politics. I reigned a few years back, it is not all that it’s cracked up to be, and the majority of the queens were not a good influence to the younger generation at all, sure they would dress fine during an event, but right afterwards they would go in the bathroom and put on revealing clothing.. I was so embarrassed one day when I was paired with some girls who were flirting with men to see who could get the most phone numbers.. I think that half of the girls running, could care less about helping people and their communities, they just want a shiny crown and Sash, and they are not mature enough to realize that it’s actually a job. I believe what happened was right, and she should have been decrowned long ago. We do not need dishonest girls representing a community, I honestly don’t know what people are thinking sticking up for her, she doesn’t deserve that crown because there are tons of young ladies out there that would be a much better influence. She was privileged to have won, it’s sad because other young girls would die to be able to represent their community with class.Younger girls really look up to the queens, and what is that teaching them?, that it’s alright to steal and commit crimes because a queen does it.. it just keeps getting worse and more embarrassing each year.

  25. These pageants are a part of our community for a reason. They’re here to give our girls a sense of responsibility. I was a part of them growing up and proudly represented the Eastside in 2003 & 2007. Being a community queen is about being able to represent your community at different functions and be a positive role model to those who look up to you. When I was Jr. Miss Eastside 2003 it was brought to my attention that I inspired someone younger than me so much that she wrote a paper about me and how I was her biggest role model and how I inspired her to do better in school. That’s what it’s about! Making your unity a better place a place where people are in this together and stick together through all of the hard times. It was a great way for me to network and learn about different businesses and how chambers worked. This was good for me because during my reign as Miss in 2007 I was elected by my school to the Lancaster Youth Commission where I became the mayor. Being a community queen is a good way for girls in the community to strengthen their leadership skills, get a nice scholarship, and meet friends for life. The community queen program helped me get to where I am today. It sucks that one girl made a mistake but she’s still a kid and sometimes kids do stupid things. She’s paying her dues and hopefully she learned something from this experience.

  26. It’s not unheard of, but I also think some of the city pageants don’t spend enough time cultivating the character of the queens. Which is why my daughters will never participate in these type of pageant. I choose only for them to participate in pageant that focus on promotion of self image, heritage, and building the community like Miss Black AV, Miss Black Chamber of Commerce, and Miss Juneteenth pageants. #anything Waunette Cullors is the director of!

    • I was a community queen, Rosamond’s actually. And I think it is sad how the whole world thinks that just because she is a community queen she must act like a royal fart. She is a human being too. It’s sad how they are paraded around like lil lions in the zoo!!Let them act like normal kids and do normal kid stuff instead of putting on this fesahd (S?) of fake ways. Let them model what a real person has to go through and maybe they wont seem so awful when they go outside the norm. I do not condone this young lady’s behavior but the way she takes responsibility should be the example we show to our kids.

  27. Based on the story it seems the girl did the right thing and stood before a judge and owned her mistake…she will now have this on her record as an adult…it seems that there still may be some adults that need to be held accountable for the possible act of “cyber-bullying”!…when will the next story be published about these adults being brought up on some charges of their own?…Perhaps some restraining orders are in order…I hope some lawmaker gets it together and makes it a felony crime to commit such acts of cyber-bullying it is getting out of control!

    • She did the right thing seven months too late! Everyone needs to realize that she knew the rules of the pageant. She made the choice to not be women enough and step down after she was arrested. After reading all of the comments defending her and making her the victim I am thinking that the people accused of “bullying” her had no option than to go above the Chamber which over sees the Miss Lancaster pageant and bring it to the public eye. I now think that the Chamber needs to step up and take responsibility that they were wrong just like Kelsey did.

      • I’m not so privy to the whole situation and about what really happened aka “the truth” as it appears some of you on here appear to be…I have read two different stories…the one here that reports she was the only one involved and then there is the AV Press that reports she didn’t act alone and she was an accomplice to a crime..but I do know that two wrongs don’t make a right…adult women cyber-bullying ANYONE should be considered a menace to society and nothing less but a crime in itself…I guess you haven’ t heard the tragic stories about these young girls taking their own lives over this type of bullying…it is wrong and it should be a crime!…She was charged with a petty theft for God’s sake…she didn’t kill someone…she stood before a judge and made her plea…she took her punishment and 7 months later or not she gave up her crown…but the adults still want to keep slandering and bullying…yep this is what scorned ” women” love to do!

  29. Lighten up guys. The world hasn’t come to an end as of today. Young people make mistakes and still manage to make something of themselves. Our president was a stoner, and another didn’t know how to inhale. And that’s all I have to say about that.

  30. She’s a 19 year old kid, guys. Sure. Legally she’s an adult and she is paying the price, but the way some so-called “adults” are behaving, I am suddenly having high school flashbacks. If only these upholders of good citizenship were as outraged over how some of our local elected officials behaved, we’d have much better government. Save your outrage for something that matters.

  31. I guess when your mom’s friends with people on the chamber it helps get things covered up for a little while. This happened so long ago and nothing was done until now. She was able to continue to represent the community even though the chamber knew about the incident. It’s sad but it all comes down to politics and who you know.

    • And those who knew and covered for her should be reprimanded. By them covering for her they condone her actions.

      • I don’t believe for a second that the Chamber “just found out on January 10th” How embarrassing.

          • Get a life, ladies. And, be brave enough to use your real names as you have great “insider” knowledge of this whole situation if you know what I mean. (wink) Very interesting, indeed.

    • It also teaches and sends the wrong message to pageant member, young adults looking up to government officials. To use monies and power to cover up criminal activities, unfair use of legal policies. Embarrassing and appalling !!

  32. It’s so sad to see what has happened to this pageant. Out of the past 5 years, 3 of their queens have relinquished their titles. There are many girls I have seen compete that have had past experiences in the pageant community that are very qualified to have this title but for whatever reason they are not chosen as the queen.
    I’m glad to see that they have a new director who will hopefully run the pageant in a fair way by staying impartial and having out of town judges.

    • So because we live in a society where theft is prevalent it makes it ok for her to do it and still represent our community. I don’t think so! She is supposed to be setting an example for our younger generation and a bad example isn’t the example we want!

      • Adult women are supposed to set an example for their children as well and participating in bullying online hiding behind a computer screen is not the example society needs as well!

        • Exactly the adults should have set the example by having her step down and take responsibility for her actions seven months ago. So when it comes down to it they have set the example that it is OK to break the rules and be deceitful as long as no one finds out.

  34. I pray she learns from her mistake and move forward she is so Beautiful and talented to young to get mixed up in the wrong stuff.

  35. Proverbs 28:13 ESV
    Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.

    Matthew 7:3-5 ESV
    Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.

    It is a sad day when the lies of others meant to burn the heart of our youth go unpunished. It takes more courage to be honest and responsible than it does to lie in dark corners. I do hope the other side of this story is followed as well, especially because one transgression by a Young girl does not weigh the same as months of torture by grown women.

    • She should of given up her crown when this first happened and all of those who have known about it for months should have encouraged her to do so from the begining. It would have saved her from all of this and people would have had more respect for her for owning up to her actions. As for the pageant moms I’m sure all they wanted was for her to be held to the same rules as the others. This has been made into a bullying issue instead of a young women representing her community that was found guilty of a crime and has represented her community knowing that she had broken the rules of the pageant.

      • Kelsey did her time for the petty theft, but she should have been made to resign when it happened, not 7 months later. I feel swindled by the chamber of commerce. The 1st runner up missed out on her chance to represent the community.