Miss Oregon gives up crown over residency dispute

Miss Oregon has given up her crown following questions about her residency.

Rachel Berry will not be able to compete in the Miss America pageant next year.  She was selected as Miss Oregon last month.

Pageant director Dana Phillips says Berry couldn’t prove she had lived in Oregon for six months before competing in the Miss Willamette Valley pageant in April.

Berry says competing to be Miss America is a dream she’s worked toward since she was young, but she accepts the decision.  She says she wouldn’t want to deprive another contestant of the opportunity to represent Oregon.

Instead, the runner-up will compete in Las Vegas in the January pageant.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.