Top 10 News Stories Contest

Match your wits with Deseret News editors. If you can match their ranking of Utah's Top 10 news stories of 2000, you could win gift certificates and/or a Deseret News book or umbrella.

Contest rules: From the story summaries listed below, rank from 1 to 10 the stories you believe were the biggest Utah stories of the year. Please submit ballots clipped or duplicated from the newspaper or obtained at the Deseret News office, 30 E. 100 South, Salt Lake City. All entries must be received at the Deseret News office by noon Wednesday, Dec. 27. Only one entry per person, please.

Prizes: The entry that most closely matches the Top 10 list as determined by Deseret News editors will win the grand prize, $100 in gift certificates from the ZCMI Center and a copy of "Through Our Eyes," a book that chronicles 150 years of history as seen by Deseret News writers and editors. Three second-place winners will receive $50 gift certificates and copies of "Through Our Eyes." Ten other winners will receive Deseret News umbrellas. Any ties will be broken by a drawing. The Top 10 news stories and contest winners will be announced Sunday, Dec. 31, in the Deseret News.

The ballot

Your top story should be No. 1, the second No. 2 and so forth.

_____ Y2K Bug: The year 2000 arrives without the anticipated chaos.

_____LaVell Edwards: BYU football coach LaVell Edwards retires after 29 seasons, and Cougar Stadium is renamed for him. Gary Crowton is hired to replace him.

_____Olympic Scandal: The Salt Lake City Olympic scandal yields indictments of former Salt Lake bid committee president Tom Welch and vice president David Johnson.

_____Polygamy: Admitted polygamist Tom Green faces charges of bigamy, child rape and criminal nonsupport.

_____ Election: Second Congressional District Rep. Merrill Cook loses the Republican primary to Derek Smith, who loses to Democrat Jim Matheson.

_____ Nuclear Waste: The Goshute Tribe continues its push to host a temporary nuclear waste storage site despite strenuous objections from Gov. Mike Leavitt.

_____Main Street: The LDS Church opens its Main Street plaza despite ACLU claims that behavior restrictions placed on the plaza violate free speech rights.

_____School Clubs: The Salt Lake City School District agrees to sanction a club that focuses on gay and lesbian issues.