Dethroned beauty queen defends her actions, points finger at accusers

Targets another contestant's mom, who works for the DA

By Sylvie Belmond belmond@theacorn.com

Miss Ventura County 2005, who was dethroned the same year and later accused by pageant organizers of theft and perjury, fought back Friday at a press event organized by her attorney.

Hilary Gushwa, then a Moorpark resident, lost her title and the right to wear her crown when pageant officials learned she was married at the time she participated in the local competition.

Gushwa says she is the target of an "angry beauty pageant mother who is upset that her daughter lost a competition."

"I won Miss Ventura County 2005. I applied for the competition in August of 2004 and every representation I made in my application was true and accurate," Gushwa said Friday.

Records show Gushwa got married in Las Vegas on Oct. 10, 2004. The pageant took place Oct. 23, 2004.

Pageant rules dictate that entrants "must never have been married, never had a marriage annulled, or been pregnant."

The Ventura County Scholarship Association, which organizes the pageant, sued Gushwa for $5,000 in small claims court earlier this year, alleging that she knowingly and fraudulently misrepresented herself as single in order to compete. The civil court awarded the association $3,121 in July. Gushwa paid the debt.

Pageant organizers filed a police report in August, accusing Gushwa of grand theft and alleging she committed perjury during the civil trial.

In self -defense

Last week Gushwa, speaking outside her attorney's office in Ventura, refuted the allegations. Along with her attorney, Ron Bamieh, she pointed the finger at Jackie Youngern, a committee member of the Ventura County Scholarship Association.

Bamieh maintains Gushwa committed no malfeasance when she accepted the title, and said the driving force behind the allegations is Youngern, is the mother of another 2005 pageant contestant.

He alleged that Youngern used her professional credentials as an investigative assistant with the Ventura County district attorney's office to intimidate witnesses and solicit clerks at government offices to obtain records.

"It's beneath her, it should not be done," said Bamieh, who had worked on several unrelated cases with Youngern when he was employed at the DA's office.

Gushwa said her family has received disturbing phone calls and been harassed since the filing of a police report made the allegations public.

On the subject of the missing crown- actually a tiara- Gushwa said she had given it to a seriously ill young girl after the small claims court ruled she didn't have to return it.

The former beauty queen also repeated her earlier statement that she does not remember getting married. She said she went to Las Vegas with her then-boyfriend, David Scanlan, just to visit his parents before the mid-October pageant.

Gushwa said that during that period of time she was taking prescription medication and also drinking alcohol, and that her ability to make sound decisions was affected.

"My memory of much of the evening where I was supposedly married in a Las Vegas wedding chapel is hazy at best," Gushwa said. "Those who've made statements to the contrary are ignorant of the facts or are motivated by something other than the truth."

Gushwa said she and Scanlan broke up shortly after the Las Vegas trip.

"I never even told my family that I was married . . . because I never believed or thought for one moment that I was," she said.

Her attorney said the marriage was nullified early in 2005 by the state of Nevada and that under the law, the marriage never existed.

Who keeps the crown "We're just trying to get Hilary to do the right thing and return the crown," said Sandy Bryan, executive director of the scholarship association. If the crown was indeed given to a girl who is ill, the VCSA may let her keep it, Bryan said.

"We're not trying to be mean to little girls; we just don't know the circumstances," she said.

According to Lori Barondess, who serves on the pageant committee with Youngern, said the organization, not Youngern, initiated the small claims court proceedings and filed the police report.

In addition, Youngern's daughter's role in the competition was not significantly affected by Gushwa's actions because the other woman finished third, not second.

"Only the first runnerup was directly affected, since she was not able to compete (as Miss Ventura County) in the Miss California competition because there was not enough time to prepare her," Barondess said.

Pageant organizers said they learned about the marriage the week before Gushwa was to represent the county in the state competition.

"The sister of the groom called the head of the Miss California pageant to say Gushwa was married," said Barondess, adding that she and Scanlan's mother provided photos and details of the wedding.

Youngern refused to comment for this story. An internal DA's office investigation may take place to determine whether Youngern had in any way abused her authority.

Gushwa said she does not desire revenge or retaliation. "It was our hope that Ms. Youngern would learn from her mistake as Ms. Gushwa has from hers," Bamieh said.

Gushwa began to compete in pageants at age 16, and created Heart2Heart, a nonprofit organization that promotes bone marrow drives to help leukemia patients.

She said she hoped the widely publicized allegations will not affect the group's ability to raise awareness and money for the National Marrow Donor Program.

She has been a national spokesperson for the City of Hope and earned a Volunteer of the Year award from the Moorpark Chamber of Commerce.

According to her website, Gushwa won the 2007 Miss Ventura County International pageant, an event organized by Crowning Glory Productions.

Source: Simi Valley Acorn

Local Beauty Presents Bulgaria on Miss Summer International 2007

The Bulgarian beauty Galena Dimova, ‘Miss Bulgaria - Universe' 2005 will present the country on the international beauty contest ‘Miss Summer International 2007'.

The competition finals will take place in the luxurious Italian resort ‘Forte Dei Marmi', near to Pisa, on September 26-28.

Galena will compete for the crown with 15 more belles from all around the world.

Special guest and member of the jury will be Eleonora Mancheva, ‘Mrs. Universe 2007'.

Source: News Bg

Miss Bulgaria Universe 2007 Naked for Maxim Magazine

By Blaga Bangieva


The sexy brunette from the cover of the last edition of ‘Maxim' men magazine is the 20 years-old Gergana Kochanova from Sofia.

She presented Bulgaria with dignity on the World finals of ‘Miss Universe' competition that took place in Mexico.

Other hot girls that are in the maxim's issue are: Galina Gancheva - Miss Bulgaria Universe 2005, the long-leg beauty from Sofia Biliana and the Brazil top model Roberta.


Source: Web Media Group

Manawatu the best

By JUDITH LACY - Tribune

Miss Manawatu Claire Kirby thought she'd made too many mistakes to win another crown last Sunday - she was wrong.

She was named Miss Earth New Zealand at a dinner in Auckland and will represent the country at the international Miss Earth pageant, to be held in Manila, Philippines, on November 11.

The 19 year old's win was a double bonus for Manawatu with 2006 Miss Manawatu Rachel Crofts second.

Miss Kirby, who works at Passion Deli & Cafe in Feilding, told The Tribune she didn't think she had a chance of winning as she thought her hair and make-up didn't look the best. She also felt she'd made a number of "mistakes" including running late for the swimwear parade and, feeling flustered, struggling to undo the knot she'd tied in her sarong. The seven contestants also had to model ballgowns and cocktail dresses and give a three-minute speech - Miss Kirby spoke about her trip to India last year. Contestants were interviewed by the judges and asked about the message they would take to the environmentally themed pageant.

In the audience were Miss Kirby's family, Miss Manawatu franchise owner Kate Balfour and Miss Manawatu judge Diane Bate.

Miss Kirby will spend about three weeks in the Philippines preparing for the pageant and attending events.

Miss Crofts also won the best ballgown award. Two previous Miss Earth New Zealand winners have come from Manawatu - Rachel Tucker (2004) and Tiffany Pickford (2005).

Source: Manawatu Standard Tribune

'Ball' looks forward to biggest day

By Lerpong Amsa-ngiam

Paradorn Srichaphan might have no matches to play for the rest of the season, but he has loads of off-court errands to keep him fully occupied before his wedding.

Still nursing a nagging wrist injury, the groom-to-be has so many things to do for the biggest day in his life when he will marry Canadian Natalie Glebova, the 2005 Miss Universe.

The guest list still has to be completed and the invitation cards printed, while the wedding venue has yet to be chosen.

Being so busy making arrangements, the former world No 9 has to delay returning to the tennis circuit.

"Everything is going just fine. We will have a normal wedding, nothing huge like everyone expects,'' said Paradorn, who has been taking a break to heal his tendonitis since March.

Rumours had spread through the Internet and tabloids that their romance had turned sour and the wedding might not happen. But the couple have just had a wedding photo-shoot in a studio, underlining their bonds are still strong.

"She is happy. We have lots of fun together,'' said Paradorn.

The day they will say "I do" is set for November 29 in Bangkok. VIP guests will include reigning Miss Universe Riyo Mori from Japan and two former top 10 players, Tommy Haas and Nicholas Kiefer from Germany.

Despite his absence from the upcoming Thailand Open, Paradorn plans to deliver wedding invitations to fellow players. For him, it's agony to skip the home tournament where he dreams of lifting a trophy in front of his fans.

"It's a pity that I have to give a pass it this year. But fans still have big names like Raphael Nadal and Novak Djokovic to root for. I suggest fans go and watch these guys,'' said the two-time semi-finalist of the country's only ATP Tour event.

As tennis is in his blood, "Super Ball" cannot help catching up with "who is hot, who is not" at the ongoing US Open, where he reached the fourth round in 2003.

"I miss the Tour and imagine that I was there. Hopefully, I can get back to the Tour as soon as possible." But the five-time ATP Tour winner is still nursing a wrist injury. "The wrist is coming along slowly. It's getting better, but I'm not going to play until next year. And I'm not going to rush,'' said the currently 110th-ranked player, whose earliest comeback event could be the Australian Open in January next year.

Paradorn believes he still has the game and the ammunition to return to the elite group. "It's a challenge to do well again after the injury. Hopefully I will get back into the top 50 again."

Source: The Nation