UPI NewsTrack Quirks in the News

Boy, 12, named town's drag queen

STICKER, England, Aug. 22 (UPI) -- A 12-year-old British boy has been named the top drag queen at his village's annual contest after donning women's clothes and singing pop hits for the crowd.

Redvers Stokes of Sticker, England, beat other local men in the drag contest by donning his "Naughty Nora" persona and singing tunes including Michael Jackson's "Thriller" for the judges, The Sun reported Monday.

The boy said he started wearing his mother's clothes for fun when he was young and he now frequently attends village events in women's clothes and makeup.

"I don't think there's anything wrong with it, I think it's really funny. And my friends think it's really cool. I've always been open to new things. I might like dressing up in women's clothes but I still like girls. It's just a little hobby of mine," Stokes said.

Organizers of the drag contest said they started the annual event two years ago when they found not enough girls were willing to participate in the carnival queen pageant.

The boy's mother, Georgia Stokes, 43, said she "couldn't be more proud" of her son.

"His Naughty Nora routine is very convincing. I've never been concerned. Redvers just loves being the center of attention. He has no plans to make it a career," she said.

10 people paying back $3M in benefits

LONDON, Aug. 22 (UPI) -- The British Department for Work and Pensions said it is setting up payment plans for 10 people who were overpaid a total of nearly $3 million in benefits.

The department said an estimated $5.4 billion is overpaid each year due to fraud and errors and the largest 10 debtors for the past year were overpaid a total of $2.8 million, The Sun reported Monday.

A department spokesman said payment plans are designed to "avoid undue hardship."

One of the debtors, who owes $394,800, is paying the department back at a rate of $16.29 per month, a speed that would take 142 years to completely repay the sum, The Sun said.

Another of those who owe the department is paying a $238,525 debt back at a rate of $32.90 per week while another is paying $57.58 per week to repay a $430,990 debt.

"This is just more evidence that the benefits system is in free fall," said Matthew Elliott of the TaxPayers' Alliance.

12-year-old detective tracks down suspects

ATLANTA, Aug. 22 (UPI) -- A 12-year-old Georgia girl investigating a burglary at her late great-grandmother's home said she confronted a suspect, but police have made no arrests.

Jessica Maple, who attended the Fulton County District Attorney's Junior District Attorney camp in Atlanta earlier in the summer, said police told her family there were no signs of forced entry at the Atlanta home, where several large items were taken, ABC News reported Monday.

"I went to the side of the house and looked at the garage," the girl said. "The windows were broken. There were finger prints by the glass. Everything was ramshackled. There were clothes everywhere."

Maple told ABC she next visited a nearby pawn shop, where she discovered the stolen items and the manager had copies of the IDs of the men who brought in the goods.

The girl said she and her mother, Stephanie, went to the home of one of the suspects and confronted him.

"We went up to him and I asked him why he did it," she said. "At first he denied it, but then he confessed."

Maple said she shared all of her findings with police, but they have yet to make any arrests.

"They have all the evidence," Maple said. "I have no idea what is taking so long!"

Neighbors call for skunk action plan

JOLIET, Ill., Aug. 22 (UPI) -- Residents of an Illinois neighborhood said they want their city to take action to curb the population of skunks in their area.

Neighbors in the Bryan Avenue area of Joliet said the skunk population has been steadily growing during the past few summers and the smell has become a major problem, The (Joliet) Herald-News reported Monday.

Doreen and Bob Swanson described the problem to the Joliet City Council last week as an epidemic and called on officials to create an action plan for the skunk infestation.

The Swansons said they rented two traps from the Joliet Township Animal Control Center and have caught four of the animals during the past two weeks.

Bryan Jones, an animal control officer for Joliet Township, said he picks up an average of three skunks per day, but he doesn't seem to be making a dent in the population.