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• Bookkeeper convicted of fraud, theft

• Habitat helpers

• Lodi may get senior housing along Railroad Avenue

• Lodi's Keys' Kitchen deep in debt to city

• Lodi chamber honors Lewis as Lodi's Citizen of the Year

• Smart and Final store has quiet opening on East Lodi Avenue

• Galt school district weighs options for new, old campuses

• Regional Roundup

• Logbook

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

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November 19th, 2009

• 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

• Chase ends in crash

• Operation: Christmas

• Logbook

• Suspect arrested after hiding in fridge

• Galt Joint Union High School Distric hires new superintendent

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

November 18th, 2009

• Regional Roundup

• Paranormal group conducts second investigation of building

• Congress allocates money for local water projects

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

• Galt City Council rejects study on rent stabilization

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

November 17th, 2009

• Clarification

• 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

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November 16th, 2009

• Correction

• Public Meetings

• Regional Roundup

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

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

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

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

November 14th, 2009

• Galt school district narrows superintendent search to one

• Regional Roundup

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

• Watchful neighbor in Lodi helped bust suspected burglars

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

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

• New Galt city manager juggles job, family

November 13th, 2009

• What to expect with new homebuyer tax credit

• Lodi Muslim: Local mosque not involved

• Regional Roundup

• Mayor Larry Hansen points out Lodi's economic progress

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• Burglary suspects are under arrest

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• The country's mess is our fault (151)
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• Sarah Palin's book hits the shelves: Locals react (66)
• Despite budget cuts, some Lodi Unified School District salaries continue to rise (55)
• Lodi City Council plans to cap number of taco trucks at 22 (48)
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Lodi chamber honors Lewis as Lodi's Citizen of the Year

Lodi City Councilman Larry Hansen put it succinctly when he introduced Dennis Lewis, Lodi's Outstanding Citizen of the Year.

"There is a Santa Claus in the city of Lodi, and his name is Dennis Lewis," Hansen said.

Lewis was honored with the William T. Harkins Outstanding Citizen of the Year on Tuesday night by the Lodi Chamber of Commerce at Hutchins Street Square.

Lewis told a virtual who's who of Lodi at the chamber dinner that some 1,400 underprivileged children received Christmas gifts in December, with more than 400 of them receiving bicycles.

Lewis founded Adopt-A-Child in 1989 and continually leads the effort to provide Christmas gifts and school clothes for needy children on Lodi's Eastside. He has also sponsored two Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops as a gang deterrent while helping needy young people in numerous ways.

The chamber honored five other people for their public service — Terry Knutson of Cottage Bakery, Industrialist of the Year; Stanton Lange, Agribusiness Person of the Year; The mother-daughter team of Beverly Mannon-McFarland and Heather Doneen, Deanna Enbright Chamber Volunteers of the Year; and Troy Meath, Ray Hirning Street Faire Volunteer of the Year.

Entertainment was provided by Andrew Chesley, executive director of the San Joaquin Council of Governments, who provided comic relief wearing a white chef's hat and a bright red apron while singing the Dean Martin hit, "That's Amore," and an opera selection with his baritone voice.

Dennis Lewis

A Lodi police officer for 34 years before retiring in 2005, Lewis founded Adopt-A-Child when he was president of the Lodi Police Officers Association.

Knutson was cited for putting Lodi on the map with bread cooked at Cottage Bakery being sold at Safeway other chain stores and being served at restaurants, chain restaurants and fast-food outlets in Canada, Japan, Singapore, New Zealand and other locations in addition to the United States, chamber President and CEO Pat Patrick said.

Knutson's father, Ray Knutson and Wayne Larson purchased Cottage Bakery in 1954 and has remained in the Knutson family in Lodi ever since. It was recently sold to Ralcorp Holdings, based in St. Louis, Mo.

The manufacturing plant at Cottage Bakery in south Lodi measures 350,000 square feet, and the company employs almost 700.

Knutson was unable to attend Tuesday's chamber dinner due to a pre-planned vacation, but the firm's human resources director, Bart Spence, accepted the award.

Mother-daughter duo Beverly Mannon-McFarland, right, and Heather Doneen each accept the Deanna Enright Chamber Volunteer Award. (Angelina Gervasi/News-Sentinel)

Lange, older brother of Acampo vintners Brad and Randy Lange, manages 17 varieties of winegrapes on more than 1,000 acres in the Lodi area. He is active in the wine industry, chairing the Lodi-Woodbridge Winegrape Commission's Research Committee, for which he's served for nearly 16 years. He also helped update the Lodi Winegrower's Workbook to encourage sustainable viticulture.

"This is really gratifying," Lange said upon receiving the chamber award. "What is in the future I don't know, but I'm looking forward to it."

For Chamber Volunteers of the Year, chamber officials chose a mother-daughter team described as "great ambassadors for the chamber," new chamber chairman Eric Daegling said as he introduced them.

Mannon-McFarland, administrator at Fairmont Rehabilitation Hospital in Lodi, said she enjoys the opportunity to meet and network with the business community as chamber ambassador.

Doneen, her daughter, helps with special events at Fairmont Rehabilitation Hospital.

Meath began volunteering at the Lodi Street Faire in 1994. His duties are varied, ranging from climbing onto store roofs to install speakers to stocking the drinking booths, moving furniture and giving people rides on golf carts from one part of the Faire to another, said Street Faire co-chairwoman Marie Rodriguez.

Contact reporter Ross Farrow at rossf@lodinews.com.

First published: Wednesday, January 31, 2007