Rose Queen apology accepted by all but one

Sometimes saying you're sorry is good enough.

And sometimes it's not.

The parents of three contestants in last week's Rose Queen pageant in Roselle said they're satisfied with an apology emailed Thursday to all participants. In the email, pageant organizers explained a mix-up that resulted in one segment of the contest being eliminated from the scoring — a change some parents said could have skewed the results.

But one mother, Mary Lou Miller, says it's too little, too late.

“We are not accepting their apology,” said Miller, whose daughter Amanda was first runner-up and won a $1,000 scholarship. “It's such an injustice and it just amazes me that this is how they could leave it.”

The Rose Queen error started during the final segment of last Friday's pageant at Lake Park High School, when contestants were set to answer an onstage question from a list of 10 they rehearsed in advance. But pageant committee member Teri Hodgdon accidentally mixed in some questions from a previous pageant, taking five girls who were asked the erroneous questions off-guard.

To correct the situation, organizers omitted the segment from the scoring, taking points only for talent, active wear, evening wear and a pre-pageant interview. Hodgdon said it did not change the way any of the girls finished in the contest.

Miller, however, along with parents Nancy Farrell, Jean Troyke, Mary Rose McHugh and their husbands sent a joint letter to organizers calling for either doing the pageant over, voiding the contest, or evenly splitting the scholarship money that traditionally awards $2,000 to the queen, $1,000 to the first runner-up and $500 to the second runner-up.

“All we wanted as parents was to say we didn't understand how it got messed up, to suggest possible solutions, and make sure it's correct for next year,” McHugh said. “It was a fine pageant. Could it have gone a little smoother? Yes. But (my daughter) had a good experience.”

Farrell and Troyke echoed McHugh's words and agreed they did not intend to cause a stir.

“(Once) I was told how the situation was resolved I was satisfied with the results and did not want to pursue this matter any further,” said Troyke. “I and my daughter are perfectly happy with the results as they stand.”

But Miller said fair is fair and she is considering requesting to see the judges' scores, even though she is resigned that pageant organizers will not take further action.

“I don't know what my next move is, because what will it change?” Miller said. “This is not over for me because there's not closure yet. How do you know that portion of the contest wasn't the girls' strongest point? They might not have been great in an evening gown, but they might have blown the judges out of the water by answering the question. The fact that they just took out that portion, it's making me furious.”

Pageant organizers have said the results will stand and Rose Queen Lauren Caputo, a Lake Park junior, will keep her crown.