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• St. Anne's marks 100th anniversary with huge crowd

• Motorcycles, cars displayed at Lodi Lake for a good cause

• New, easier-to-read STAR reports issued

• St. Anne not well known

• The mystery of Thornton's 'miracle' statue

• Supervisors to begin open bid for alarm system

• Army reservists return home to Tracy after serving more than a year in Iraq

November 21st, 2009

• Logbook

• Holiday drive spreads cheer to U.S. troops

• Galt High students want board to approve open-campus policy

• Poisoning victims remain hospitalized

• Expert: Half a mushroom cap can be deadly

• Tokay grad files claim over Lodi's Grape Bowl

• Lodi Middle School holds annual Turkey Trot

• Regional Roundup

• No motive or suspect in shooting

• Sacramento cop arrested for alleged kidnapping

November 20th, 2009

• Acampo woman killed

• Salvation Army Kettle Kickoff

• Advocacy groups sue East Bay Municipal Utility District over Pardee expansion

• Regional Roundup

• Galt plans to help residents with energy-efficient projects

• Stable southeast of Lodi approved

• One year after a heart attack, Lodi's Judy Mims thanks rescuers

• National Guard troops return home in time for the holidays

• Real estate market gets on more solid ground

November 19th, 2009

• Operation: Christmas

• Logbook

• Suspect arrested after hiding in fridge

• Chase ends in crash

• Galt Joint Union High School Distric hires new superintendent

• Sales tax hike yields dividends: 5 new officers join Galt Police

• Lodi Unified School District board votes to cancel summer school for 2010

• Water surges in Mokelumne River yield more salmon

• Lodi City Council will consider redevelopment next June

• Lodi City Council plans to cap number of taco trucks at 22

• Corrections

November 18th, 2009

• Regional Roundup

• Paranormal group conducts second investigation of building

• Congress allocates money for local water projects

• Sarah Palin's book hits the shelves: Locals react

• Lodi man finds wife's ashes during police display of stolen property

• Galt City Council rejects study on rent stabilization

November 17th, 2009

• Paying tribute to a Lodian

• Lodi Budget and Finance Committee to look into ways to save money on employee benefits

• Regional Roundup

• Decision on summer school expected at tonight's Lodi Unified School District meeting

• Clements gets free water rescue boat

• Redevelopment to be discussed by Lodi City Council again

• Court reinstates death penalty for killer of Lodi grad

• Clarification

November 16th, 2009

• Correction

• Public Meetings

• City Council 'triple-dog dared' to ditch cars, use Lodi buses

• Sierra Adventure store to close after four years in Downtown Lodi

• Lodi's First Sip event showcases area wineries' latest vintages

• Three members of Lodi-area family fall ill after eating poisonous mushrooms they reportedly found at Lodi Lake

• Regional Roundup

November 14th, 2009

• Galt school district narrows superintendent search to one

• Regional Roundup

• Despite budget cuts, some Lodi Unified School District salaries continue to rise

• Watchful neighbor in Lodi helped bust suspected burglars

• New Galt city manager juggles job, family

• Despite an increase in homeless students, school districts look to bolster enrollment, raise revenue

• A first look at 2009 vintages at Lodi's First Sip wine-tasting event

The following stories have received the most reader comments during the last 7 days.

• The country's mess is our fault (169)
• Obama is not a moderate (130)
• Sarah Palin's book hits the shelves: Locals react (73)
• Lodi City Council plans to cap number of taco trucks at 22 (50)
• Public health care is a Christian option (38)
• The haves should help the have-nots (30)
• Tokay in, traveling to unbeaten No. 3 Grant for football playoffs (25)
• Government-run health care is a bad idea (20)
• Young woman fatally shot at Acampo home (17)
• Sierra Adventure store to close after four years in Downtown Lodi (16)

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The mystery of Thornton's 'miracle' statue

St. Anne's may not be that different from most other Catholic churches in the United States, except that very few of them have had to deal with a "miracle."

The miracle: A statue actually shedding tears and moving 20 feet or more to the altar -- all by itself.

In 1981, reports of the statue of Our Lady of Fatima moving, untouched by human hands, came from several parishioners at St. Anne's mission church in Thornton, Mater Ecclesiae. The results: Thousands of people showing up in Thornton to view the statue.

The statue moved to the altar on the 13th of each month from April to September 1981, said Al Amaro, a Thornton resident since 1942. The statue stopped moving after church officials moved it to a different location inside the church. The statue is still there, Amaro said.

Long-time Thornton resident Manuel Pitta also claimed that Jesus and Mary spoke directly with him.

Father Harmon Skillin, pastor at St. Anne's and Mater Ecclesiae from 1983 to 1994, remembers having to handle what rightfully could be termed a delicate situation.

"It was a great diversion for a pastor, believe me," Skillin told the News-Sentinel last week.

"A delegation came from Thornton," he said.

So how do you insist that the statue didn't exhibit human characteristics, yet treat your parishioners with respect with dignity?

"Very carefully," Skillin said.

Roger Mahony, then bishop of the Stockton Diocese and now cardinal of the Los Angeles Archdiocese, appointed a commission of four area priests to investigate what was going on in Thornton.

During a press conference in Thornton on June 8, 1983, Mahony announced before a battery of newspaper and TV reporters that the statue didn't constitute "a miracle in the eyes of the Catholic Church," according to a story in the News-Sentinel.

Skillin said he had to be gentle, but truthful.

"Sometimes, truth is not acceptable (to those who don't wish to accept it)," he said.