But that doesn't diminish the contributions that did come in, including these solid leads from the Press Journal of Vero Beach, Fla.:

"Ladies and gentlemen, start your credit cards. Indian River Mall is officially ready for business."

(Chris Kauffmann, on the opening of an $89 million temple of retailing.)

"Soldiers who survived combat can get one more close shave in a place where bandoliers of machine gun ammunition hang over a bookcase and infantry patches share wall space with captured enemy flags and images from a half-dozen wars."

(James Kirley, on a feature about a barber shop with a military atmosphere.)

The New York Times Regional Newspaper newsletter, Wire Tapping, included these leads that make it tough for the reader not to continue:

"As birthday presents go, the sharp stab of an inoculation needle ranks pretty low on Lesley Clementi's wish list.''

(Logan D. Mabe, Lakeland (Fla.) Ledger, on a feature about a 7-year-old being treated with new HIV-fighting drug that is being used for the first time in children.)

"Pretty soon, Santa Rosa's five high schools will be offering more than just an education, they'll be offering free toilets, too.''

(Mike McCoy, Santa Rosa (Calif.) Press Democrat, on city utility officials enlisting high school students to convince their parents about the benefits of low-flush toilets.)

"Helen Cashwell doesn't mind being thrown up on. In fact, she's used to it.''

(Marty Minchin, Wilmington (N.C.) Morning Star, on a feature about a volunteer who serves as an international escort for a non-profit group that gets free medical help in the United States for poor children.)

(Darrell Norman, Gadsden (Ala.) Times, on the return to court of an escapee.)

A regular contributor to The Write Stuff, the Tampa Tribune, carried this holiday headline:

Christmas tree farms offer 1-chop shopping

(By Bill Prescott)

Oh high oh! Snow clogs state

(By Len Howell, on a wire story about an early winter storm hitting the state of Ohio.)

Roberta MacInnis of the Houston Chronicle produced these two entertaining headlines about entertainers:

See Monkees do

'60s pop stars reunite on album entirely of their own design

(On the regrouping of the made-for-TV group of three decades ago.)

Call him Kenny Zzzzzzzz

(On a not-so-enthusiastic review of the newest album by Kenny G.)

Fat chance of being thin, statistics show more Americans overweight than not

(By Bill Gould, on a "heavy" story about the shape of things in the United States)

Give Americans a meter, and they'll take a mile

(By Larry Collins, on Americans' continuing aversion to acceptance of the metric system.)

Finally, the folks at the Tampa Tribune win this issue's Double Play Award, highlighting the best headline-lead combination among the items submitted. It goes like this:

2 birds in the hand

worth reward at Busch

"They were two scarlet macaws, stuck in a rut.

"Odds are, they're in a redneck bird bar, getting looped on fruit.

"Thelma and Louise, the brightly colored birds of Busch Gardens, went AWOL during a show Friday, much like their movie counterparts."

(Head by Larry Sullivan, lead by Patty Ryan.)

Don't go AWOL on your staffers. Send examples of their good work to The Write Stuff.

Cooper is executive editor of the Dubuque (Iowa) Telegraph Herald. Contact him at P.O. Box 688, Dubuque, IA 52004-0688 or bcooper@wcinet.com.