Here's a look at today's local headlines

OFFICER SHOT HIMSELF? At least that's what the attorney for the suspect in last week's assault says. Antonio Riley Jr. is accused of getting into a fight with Officer Kelly A. Stewart late Tuesday morning when the officer stopped the Nissan 300Z Riley was driving in a parking lot at the Forest Pointe Apartments on Forest Road. Find out what Riley's attorney says happened next in our story.

COW RENOVATION STALLED: Long before these colorful cows popped up around town to benefit the NC Children's Hospital, a lone bovine stood watch over Chapel Hill Road. Over the years, though, the cow began to show its age. Now the cow is getting a makeover, at least as soon as it warms up a little.

MLK SPEAKER ANNOUNCED: The Rev. William C. Turner, a 1971 Duke University graduate and a member of one of the first integrated classes, will give the keynote speech Jan. 20 at the university’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. commemoration.

We'd show you Turner's photo and provide links to these stories but we're having a technical problem today. You can find all these stories and more (and a kinda neat pic I took during "Christmas in the Carolinas" last weekend at Bennett Place) in today's Durham News, now reaching 70,000 homes every Sunday (and 68,000 Wednesdays).

Merry Christmas, and thanks for reading,
Mark

In case you missed it:

DHA BUYS LINCOLN: The Housing Authority has bought Lincoln Apartments. But it won't help any tenants still living there. The DHA, which paid just $300K, will raze the complex. Gloria Lloyd has our story. (Link here)

STAGVILLE AT FULL SPEED: Historic sites are one of Durham's best-kept secrets. I was at "Christmas in the Carolinas" at Bennett Place on Saturday and there were way too few people there. Stagville, an antebellum plantation, has had a lot of staff turnover lately. Jim Wise provides an update. (Link here)

DUKE CANCER SERVICE: Each December the Duke Cancer Patient Support Program honors people who have battled, who are living with or who are making a difference in the lives of those with cancer. Read Carlton Koonce's report to see who this year's honoree is. (Link here)

Bob Wilson reflects on the life and violent death of Mohammed Sundal. Tracey Fellers takes a walk in Duke Gardens. And The Durham Community Martin Luther King, Jr. Steering Committee Inc. is accepting nominations for the 2013 Keeper of the Dream Award.

All that and much more. Tell us what's on your mind at editor@newsobserver.com, and thanks for reading,

Mark

Here is a look at today's local headlines:

In today's N&O and at www.thedurhamnews.com, Virginia Bridges reports the county denies claims made by former DSS director Gerri Robinson that she was fired becaise of racial discrimination. (See story here) The county's attorneys argue that elected and appointed officials can't be sued because of their governmental immunity. But Bridges also reports that the county is paying for an attorney to represent Commissioner Joe Bowser, whom Robinson has also sued in his capacity as a private individual. No word on what that's going to cost.

In The Durham News:

BENNETT PLACE TURNS 50: Jim Wise, a historian in his own right, previews this weekend's big celebration at Bennett Place, the Durham homestead that was the scene of the largest surrender of Confederate troops to end the Civil War.

FAIRIES, DRAGONS AND KNIGHTS, OH MY! Kestrel Heights English teacher Jeff Kass told me Renaissance fairs weren't fantastical enough for him. So he created his own. See my photos from the Festival Legends here.   

DUKE LAB TO MOVE INTO WEST VILLAGE: Correspondent Monica Chen reports on the latest puzzle piece falling into place in West Village. Construction on the Research Lab began in February.

Robert Wallace remembers the dogs in his life, Lamon Lilly praises the Bull City's Phonte Coleman, and Durham police have arrested a suspect in a homicide "cold case" that happened almost 12 years ago.  By the way, you can support the police and their work on behalf of the Special Olympics by eating at the Chik-Fil-A restaurants this Friday.  See photos from the Olympics on today's front page, too!

Thanks for reading,

Mark   

Supporters of the Bennett Place State Historic Site are offering a $500 scholarship to rising high-school seniors in North Carolina.

Two essays form the major part of the application process: one on the students' personal interest in Bennett Place and the other on how to improve the site and its image as a historic landmark.

Bennett Place, off U.S. 70 in western Durham, is site of the largest Confederate surrender of the Civil War. Occurring two weeks after Appomattox, it involved 80,000 Rebel troops and ended the conflict in the Carolinas, Georgia and Florida.

April 8 is deadline for application postmarks. Presentation will be made April 15, during the site's week-long observance of the surrender's 145th anniversary.

Offered for the first time this year, the scholarship honors the late William Vatavuk of Durham, a president of the Bennett Place Support Fund Inc. in the 1980s and 90s and author of a guidebook to the site, "Dawn of Peace."

For information on the Vatavuk scholarship, contact Bennett Place State Historic Site: 919/383-4345 or bennett@ncdcr.gov.

Civil War reenactors and visitors at the 144th anniversary activities at Bennett Place in Durham on Sunday, April 26, 2009.

In case you were thinking of venturing out for a little local history today --

Durham's Bennett Place, Duke Homestead and Stagville state historic sites are closed for the weather; whether they will open Wednesday is yet to be decided.

Bennett Place in western Durham, site of the largest Confederate surrender of the War Between the States, is trying something new this weekend: Reconstruction.