Vindy Oscars contest
By GUY D’ASTOLFO
The winner of The Vindicator’s Oscars contest is Scott Robertson of Hubbard.
Robertson correctly picked 17 of the 20 categories and stood alone among the 315 entries. He will receive a $200 gift certificate from Rulli Brothers supermarkets.
The second-place winner is Marie Samios of Canfield, who got 16 picks correct. She will receive a $100 gift certificate from Rulli’s. Samios was the only contestant to pick 16 correct.
The third-place winner is Sam Mashorda of Poland, with 15 correct. He will receive a $50 gift certificate from Rulli’s.
Mashorda was among a group of 13 contestants with 15 correct picks. In compliance with contest rules, the tie was broken by a random drawing, which made Mashorda the winner.
The Oscars, which honor the best in filmmaking, were given out in a televised ceremony Sunday. The top winners were “Argo,” Best Picture; Daniel Day-Lewis, Actor; Jennifer Lawrence, Actress; and Ang Lee, Director.
Robertson is a graduate of Hubbard High School and has associate’s degrees in horticulture and business management from Kent State University.
He had never entered The Vindicator’s Oscar Contest before this year.
To formulate his picks, Robertson did a lot of reading, but he didn’t see a lot of the movies. In fact, of the Best Picture contenders, the only one he saw was “Argo.”
Some last-minute changes to his ballot put Robertson on top. “I changed a couple of my choices for the better right before sending [the ballot] in,” he said.
This year’s contest included more than 90 ballots submitted by eighth-grade students at Canfield Village Middle School as part of a class project.
On Jan. 18, the language arts students and teachers participated in an event they dubbed the Academy Awards for Books. Students dressed as book characters or came to the event “red carpet-worthy” and walked the carpet through a throng of life-size paparazzi cutouts.
Before the event, the students voiced their opinions with essays they wrote on the best protagonist, antagonist, setting and writing. The winning students were awarded “Oscars” for their essays.
Between the award announcements, the students had some popcorn time while discussing books. The popcorn was made by CVMS students with disabilities. Three of the teachers — Mrs. Nagy, Mrs. Eaton and Mrs. Meese — also dressed up in Hollywood finery for the event.