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• 'Principal's office' goes to aircraft carrier for reunion at sea

• Moose Lodge mulls offer to find new location to put down roots

• A matter of prayer: City alerting clergy to invocation policy

• Regional Roundup

February 9th, 2010

• Middle College High School rated one of the best — and a bargain, to boot

• Lodi decathlon boasts top team in county

• Man who sparked counterfeit case pleads guilty

• Local businessman will visit Haiti to look for family

• Man who claimed to be Yosemite Sam pleads guilty to meth charge

• David Harmer seeks Republican congressional nod

• Lack of evidence in case against suspect in 'drug deal' stabbing

• Regional Roundup

February 8th, 2010

• Public Meetings

• Locals pick best, most memorable Super Bowl commercials

• Regional Roundup

February 6th, 2010

• The Home Depot hopes to join Costco at Reynolds Ranch

• Meet Larry, Curly and Moe

• Baboon business

• Regional Roundup

• Several Lodi venues let you watch the Super Bowl in style

• Lodi Library celebrates 100 years of serving the community

• Culinary craft

February 5th, 2010

• Kids, teachers help Haiti by collecting pennies for Learning Link

• Lodi, Galt students reach out to help Haiti earthquake survivors

• Tasered suspect claims he is Yosemite Sam

• Hours of sweat and work go into putting on crab feeds

• Things looking up for state's real estate

• Correction

• Regional Roundup

• Stray bullet strikes Lodi home; police suspect gang activity may be factor

February 4th, 2010

• Managers at Geweke Toyota answer questions about recall

• Lodi City Council votes to replace play structure at Century Park

• Lodi extends ban on pot shops for another year

• Mokelumne River triathlon set for June

• Family, friends to run half-marathon in memory of Galt family

February 3rd, 2010

• Correction

• Delta College trustees again collide over stipend committee

• Bad bugs, weeds are hot topics at Grape Day

• Lodi-area senators Dave Cox, Lois Wolk admit to gifts; Tom Berryhill case pending

• Lodi Unified School District president issues warning to speakers over cuts

• Galt City Council avoids budget cuts — for now

• New Lodi Memorial Hospital emergency room opens to the public without a hitch

• Regional Roundup

February 2nd, 2010

• Local business leaders say tourism, Costco, Home Depot may play roles in city's future

• Correction

• Former Lodian Erica Davis is first paraplegic woman to summit Kilimanjaro

• Regional Roundup

• No snow leopards, otters for Micke Grove

• McNerney leads in campaign cash

• Police: Train victim was a Lodi teen

• Big rig plows 7 cars

• Jumpers across California

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

• Will terrorists be given Miranda warnings? (75)
• Lodi Unified School District president issues warning to speakers over cuts (64)
• President Obama's first year (45)
• Many reject the politics of 'no' (45)
• Islamic symbol in mosaic — what is all the fuss? (44)
• Writer comments on Neely column (42)
• The Home Depot hopes to join Costco at Reynolds Ranch (41)
• Time to shed the convenient sham of 'Don't ask, don't tell' policy (34)
• We need to conduct respectful conversations (30)
• Tasered suspect claims he is Yosemite Sam (25)

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'Principal's office' goes to aircraft carrier for reunion at sea

Bill Atterberry, Becky Jauregui and Melody Knee screamed as the airplane took flight. They tried to ignore the odor of hydraulic fuel that filled the steamy morning air.

They couldn't hear themselves, because each wore earplugs and helmets. They couldn't free themselves, because they were strapped into their seats. They couldn't gaze at the waters of San Diego Bay or the foggy morning sky, because the cargo plane didn't have any windows.

But no matter how scary the flight or its "125 to zero in three seconds!" tailhook landing, these Lodi educators were about to reconnect with a hometown boy — aboard the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis.

Anchored in international waters outside San Diego, more than 5,000 sailors live, work, fly and train aboard the USS Stennis. Among them is Anthony Garecht, a 2002 Lodi High graduate.

Lodi High principal Bill Atterberry, Tokay High and Lodi High career counselors Melody Knee and Becky Jaregui, along with about a dozen other educators and business owners, were invited through the "distinguished visitors," or BossLift, program of the U.S. Department of Defense's Employer Support for the Guard and Reserve (ESGR).

"He was really jazzed to see us," Atterberry said of Garecht. "They live for mail call, emails, anything that puts them in touch with home."

Garecht normally works at night, so in order to meet with the Lodi group he had to keep himself awake.

They all loved his sense of humor — he even let fellow sailors rib him about the "permanent record" file Atterberry brought, complete with school portraits from kindergarten through graduation. Jauregui brought some homemade cookies and a card signed by Lodi High alumni.

Atterberry also presented Garecht with a 2006 Lodi High yearbook, which has an inscription to his sister Kelly Garecht, one of two teenage pedestrians killed in a motor vehicle accident last Christmas Eve in Lockeford.

Dennis Hall, the ESGR's director of employer events, found out about Garecht's service on the USS Stennis through a Web site dedicated to Kelly. Hall started organizing the trip with Captain Chuck "Slick"

Henry of San Diego, who turned out to be a 1967 graduate of Lodi High School.

Fighter jets prepare for exercises on the Flight deck of the USS Stennis, in international waters off of San Diego, this week. (Courtesy photo)

BossLift visitors are mainly employers who observe the work and training of National Guard and Reserve members. The program started years ago; Hall has managed it for about 10 years. The committee has worked with about 20 educators and Hall said he hopes to include more.

Transportation to and from San Diego, and the $50 fee for room and board, was paid by each individual. Atterberry drove to San Diego, while Knee and Jauregui took round-trip flights from Sacramento. The cost to the government is not known because the operating costs are incurred regardless of a BossLift (which is conducted during training).

The visitors toured the entire carrier. They saw the officers' quarters, admiral's bridge and equipment rooms. At sunset, they ended up on deck, where they saw fighter jets perform exercises.

While taking part in an overnight visit of the USS John C. Stennis this week, Lodi High career counselor Becky Jauregui and principal Bill Atterberry reconnected with 2003 alumna Lindsay Honae while shopping for souvenirs on the aircraft carrier's gift shop. (Courtesy photo)

Atterberry, a former sailor and Vietnam veteran, was impressed with the sense of camaraderie and teamwork among the sailors — whose average age is 20 — as well as their concern for safety.

The career counselors learned more about the variety of sailors' jobs. There are four civilian professors who teach classes, and sailors can also enroll in online college courses, Jauregui said.

The USS Stennis' captain remained calm and relaxed whether he was having lunch or overseeing fighter plane exercises, Atterberry said.

He noted, however, a fundamental difference between a Navy captain and a school principal: "In the military, it's not just a job that's on the line but lives that are on the line," Atterberry said. "I couldn't imagine making every decision in that school. It still comes back to setting a standard and sticking to it."

Atterberry said they incidentally met another Lodian, 2003 Lodi High graduate Lindsay Honea, who is an aircraft captain.

The Stennis has a small store where the group was shopping for souvenirs. "All of a sudden I heard someone say 'Mr. Atterberry?' and it was Lindsay," he said.

"Small world, even on a carrier," Hall said.

Contact reporter Kendyce Manguchei at kendycem@lodinews.com.

First published: Friday, June 30, 2006