Jousting match turns painful for Vt. mayor

[July 28, 2009]  BARRE, Vt. (AP) -- A Vermont mayor who agreed in fun to a jousting match with padded sticks and helmets ended up in the emergency room after he broke some ribs.

Sunday's joust at a festival in Barre was a modern-day re-enactment of a fabled fist fight over the city's naming. Mayor Thomas Lauzon and Jeff Blow, chairman of the town's selectboard, teetered on padded pedestals in the middle of a ring as they wielded their jousting sticks.

The Barre-Montpelier Times Argus reports Blow toppled Lauzon in less than 15 seconds and the mayor returned the favor with a below-the-belt thrust.

In a deciding third match, Lauzon broke his ribs when he lunged toward Blow and slammed into his pedestal. The mayor's wife, Karen Lauzon, said Monday he's OK.

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Information from: The Times Argus, http://www.timesargus.com/

[Associated Press]

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