Austintown woman wins Vindy Oscars contest

The retiree made some lucky guesses.

THE VINDICATOR

Delores Lettera of Austintown is the winner of The Vindicator’s Oscar contest.

Lettera correctly picked 14 of the 20 Academy Awards categories in the contest. She was the only contestant out of the 164 entered who got 14 right.

The Academy Awards were held Sunday.

Although Lettera didn’t correctly pick the best picture — she chose “Atonement” over the winner, “No Country for Old Men” — she made up for it by picking correctly in the last three categories, which gave many contestants a hard time.

Lettera correctly picked “The Bourne Ultimatum” for the Film Editing award; “La Vie en Rose” for Makeup; and “The Golden Compass” for Visual Effects.

A retiree who worked at Strouss’ department store in downtown Youngstown and at other retail shops, Lettera still works part-time at a fast-food restaurant.

She acknowledges she didn’t see most of the films, and her selection process was anything but scientific. “I took a guess,” she said.

A Youngstown native who lives her with her sister, Lettera, said she was very excited about her prize package, which includes a $250 gift certificate from Julia’s Bed and Breakfast in Hubbard and a $250 gift certificate to The Winner in Sharon, Pa.

The second-place winner is Brenda Simmons of East Liverpool, and third place went to Debbie McKinney of Austintown. Simmons and McKinney each correctly picked 13 categories — as did a half-dozen others. In accordance with contest rules, Simmons was awarded second place and McKinney third via a random drawing.

Simmons gets $150 gift certificates from Coonce’s Full Circle Florist in Hubbard and Santa Fe Roast Beef Grill in Poland. McKinney receives $100 gift certificates from Coonce’s and Santa Fe.