When it comes to being bald, this senior citizen is a head above the rest.

BALD AND BEAUTIFUL: For 76-year-old Milan Qualls, the best part of winning a baldness competition was the many kisses planted on his pate.

“The ladies simply love bald men,” said Qualls, who last week bested 25 others to win the Be Bald and Be Free Day competition at the Inglewood Senior Center. The man with the fewest hairs won.

This was the first such competition at the center. It was launched to show bald men that there is nothing shameful about being bald, said center activity director Elizabeth Payne.

“They don’t understand that many women are attracted to bald men,” Payne said. “There is something sensuous about them.”

Said expert Qualls: “It is wonderful to celebrate something like baldness. As people get old, they have a tendency to think that life is not worth living, and that is not the case at all.”

So what did he win? A portrait of himself and a honeydew melon to symbolize, Payne said, “the sweetness of being bald.”

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CALLING MISS MANNERS: It appears there are no “charming kids” in El Segundo--at least not in the fall.

A 10-week course designed to teach youngsters ages 5 to 11 basic etiquette, such as telephone and table manners, had to be canceled when nobody enrolled.

The same class drew a full house this summer, according to city officials, befuddled by the lack of response this time around.

Maybe the kids were befuddled too--by the curriculum. An announcement about the class said kids would learn “positive peer communication techniques.”

Tell us, Miss Manners. Does that mean learning to say “please” and “thank you?”

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THE ANDERSON PAPERS: Former Rep. Glenn M. Anderson of San Pedro, whose political career spanned more than 40 years, has donated his papers to Cal State Dominguez Hills.

Though they won’t be ready for viewing until 1995, the Anderson papers, which contain everything from speeches and memos to news clippings and personal notes, promise to be a treasure trove of state and national history.

The archival collection covers Anderson’s beginnings as mayor of Hawthorne through his years as a state assemblyman, lieutenant governor and South Bay congressman for 24 years until last January.

A dean of the House Public Works and Transportation Committee, Anderson was a powerful force in developing the Southland infrastructure and is credited with getting the funding for the newly opened Interstate 105, officially called the Glenn M. Anderson Freeway.

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WALL OF FAME: Alfredo Garnica is up there for his sponsorship of 70 sports teams. Cal State Dominguez Hills Student Lily Garcia made it for her volunteer gymnastics coaching for several organizations. And Maybeth Downer got picked for her social work in the Samoan community.

They are all part of the “All-Stars’ Wall of Fame” at the South Bay Pavilion at Carson.

Every three months, mall operators and a residents’ panel select people for the wall who have excelled at serving the community.

“We hope the program will inspire some sense of pride,” said Sharron King, the mall’s marketing director. “We want the community to learn about some people who are truly concerned about Carson and who do a tremendous amount of good things for the city.”

Honorees have included students and business people. The wall of fame, which includes a picture and brief story about the honorees, is near the Toys R Us store.

The mall has received nearly 50 applications for next month’s selections. Applications can be picked up at the mall business office.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“I hate proposals. I can do them, but I’d rather be out in the street with the kids. I’m egotistical enough to think I can still change somebody’s life.”

--Former Harbor City Teen Post Director John Northmore on why he eschews traditional ways of running social service programs. With his center closed for lack of funds, Northmore now counsels gang members and others from the back yard of a Harbor City house.

LAST WEEK’S HIGHLIGHTS

Inglewood: Hollywood Park announced that it has agreed to lease 28 acres on the southeast corner of its property to an Orange County-based developer. QMB Investment Corp. will be responsible for the financing as well as for luring tenants to a proposed 300,000-square-foot shopping center.

THIS WEEK’S HIGHLIGHTS

Rancho Palos Verdes: The League of Women Voters will hold a City Council candidates forum at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Hesse Park, broadcast live over Dimension Cable, Channel 3. On Wednesday, the league will give a presentation at the cable studio on the seven measures on the November ballot, including the school voucher initiative. The show will air live at 7:30 p.m. The public is invited to the studio, and viewers may call (310) 377-7763 to ask questions on the air. The studio is at 33 Peninsula Center, Rolling Hills Estates.

Harbor City: Harbor-area Councilman Rudy Svorinich Jr. will hold a town hall meeting at 6:45 p.m. Wednesday at President Avenue School, 1465 W. 243rd St. Representatives from the Los Angeles police, fire and other city departments are expected to attend. Information: (310) 548-7637.