Above you see our list of the top 10 stories, as voted upon by our staff. Now try your hand at our 2009 Current Events Quiz. Winners will receive $25 gift certificates to the Varsity Theater.

Entries must be received by e-mail at editor@nando.com by 5 p.m. Monday, Jan. 4. In case of ties, winning entries will be drawn at random from all those with the same score. Prizes will be awarded for first and second place, and a third prize will be awarded at random from among all the entries just for playing.

Good luck!

1. In January, UNC Chancellor Holden Thorp ended months of controversy by announcing that he had changed his mind and would no longer pursue building a certain facility in western Orange County. What kind of facility?

2. The Carolina Inn last winter unveiled a long-lost painting of the inn's exterior that had been painted by an artist better known for his work in other fields. Who was the artist?

3. Chapel Hill Mayor Kevin Foy presented Durham Mayor Bill Bell with a gift after the first UNC-Duke basketball game of the 2008-09 season. What did Foy give Bell?

4. In February, a new historical marker was dedicated at Rosemary and Columbia streets. What did it commemorate?

5. In February, a Chapel Hillian commonly known as Chance won what prominent award?

6. A Nobel Prize winner was the commencement speaker at UNC's spring graduation ceremony. Who was it?

7. Workers at the Carnivore Preservation Trust in Pittsboro arrived at the facility one morning in May and were startled to find that something had been dropped off on their doorstep during the night. What was it?

8. In June, a renowned performing arts groups made its first-ever appearance in the southeastern U.S. at UNC's Memorial Hall. Who was it?

9. On a single Wednesday in June, three people in Orange and Durham counties were bitten in separate incidents by the same species of wild animal. What animal?

10. The ArtsCenter in 2009 opened a satellite performance and teaching space in another building. Where?

11. An exhibit called "We're All Family Here" opened in UNC's Wilson Library during the summer. What was its subject?

12. UNC raised the ire of a lot of people when it announced that users of a certain mode of transportation on campus would henceforth be required to pay for permits. What was the mode of transportation?

13. The Orange County Partnership to End Homelessness selected what book for a community read project?

14. Chapel Hill and Carrboro both used a novel approach to clearing poison ivy and other weeds out of town property last summer. What was it?

15. What planned event during Carrboro's Urban Farm Tour was cancelled after a resident complained to the town?

16. A telephone poll question asked during the local election season prompted a brief but intense controversy. The spokesman for Chapel Hill mayoral candidate Kevin Wolff suggested that some recipients of the call may have misheard the question, confusing two somewhat similar-sounding words. What were the two words?

17. The East Chapel Hill High School football team did something special on Oct. 16. What?

18. The Varsity Theater, which closed last summer, reopened the week of Thanksgiving. What was the first movie shown in the newly renovated theater?

19. Orange County imposed a new restriction on dog owners beginning in November. What practice does the regulation forbid?

20. Organizers in December announced the establishment of a new nonprofit art gallery on East Franklin Street. What is the name of the gallery?