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• 'It gives you a higher path'

• Catching up with...

• Five new Lodi firefighters start work today

• A&W doesn't measure up for root beer tasting panel

• Regional Roundup

• Public Meetings

November 2nd, 2009

• Deputies name suspect in fatal Acampo shooting

November 8th, 2009

• Lodi High graduate was at Fort Hood

• Lining up for flu shots in Lodi

• Tour packs buses as birdwatchers admire Sandhill cranes

• City of Lodi staff looking into possibility of limiting number of taco trucks

• Daytime thieves targeting Lodi homes

• Lodi High School rally featured on 'Good Day Sacramento'

• Out of control

• Homicide suspect Anthony Hubbard arraigned

• Regional Roundup

• New Lodi Memorial rule to combat spread of H1N1: Visitors must be older than 16

November 7th, 2009

• Lodi High graduate was at Fort Hood

• Lining up for flu shots in Lodi

• Tour packs buses as birdwatchers admire Sandhill cranes

• City of Lodi staff looking into possibility of limiting number of taco trucks

• Daytime thieves targeting Lodi homes

• Lodi High School rally featured on 'Good Day Sacramento'

• Out of control

• Homicide suspect Anthony Hubbard arraigned

• Regional Roundup

• New Lodi Memorial rule to combat spread of H1N1: Visitors must be older than 16

November 6th, 2009

• Short sales make up nearly half of Lodi market

• Regional Roundup

• Lodi man accused of smuggling drugs, weapons for inmates at state prison

• 'I-5 Strangler' sentenced to 6 terms of life

• Jury convicts Acampo man of torture, assault of his girlfriend

• Young girl is 200,000th person to assemble AIDS, HIV care kit

• Woman in wheelchair struck by car

November 5th, 2009

• A lower Lodi Lake

• Streetside scarecrows

• San Joaquin County considers moratorium on new Williamson Act contracts

• Speakers address Lodi Unified School District budget shortfalls, plea to keep programs

• Armed robbers still targeting Lodi shops

• Regional Roundup

• California voters have final say over $11 billion water bond

• Weekend bus service to continue until Lodi City Council makes decision

• Paul Tebbel shines spotlight on sandhill cranes

• Your complete guide to Sandhill Crane Festival

• David Diskin is first to give an invocation under new city of Lodi policy

• Man wanted in Acampo homicide gives up to San Joaquin County Sheriff's detectives

November 4th, 2009

• Candle fire

• Rep. Jerry McNerney sets telephone town hall for Thursday

• Jason Behrmann is unanimously named Galt's city manager

• Regional Roundup

• Galt City Council argues over ordinance hiring residents

• San Joaquin County sues state over prison hospital planned for Stockton

• Big win for Allen Baroni in reclamation election

• California sends Democratic loyalist John Garamendi to Congress

• Bicycling father raising awareness of teen suicide

• Lodi City Council weighs raising fares to restore some bus service

November 3rd, 2009

• 500 attend service for Kyle Coumas

• Correction

• Galt considers ordinance that would require city contractors to hire locally

• Regional Roundup

• Have you seen a missing guide dog puppy in Lodi?

• Galt man dies after weekend Highway 12 crash

• Jason Behrmann is top candidate for Galt city manager

• Deputies name suspect in fatal Acampo shooting

• Clarification

November 2nd, 2009

• Downtown Lodi trick or treat

• Public Meetings

• Correction

• Kyle Coumas funeral today

• 27-year-old man shot to death Saturday night in front of Acampo home

• Regional Roundup

• Group investigates reports of haunting

• Sandhill Cranes Festival comes to Lodi next weekend

• Lamborghini lovers gather for show, fine wine, luncheon in Woodbridge

• Lodi's 'Biggest Loser' Christy Richesin runs 5K Halloween race

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

• Bible is entwined with American civic life (135)
• I predict: A conservative tide will rise in 2010 (73)
• David Diskin is first to give an invocation under new city of Lodi policy (70)
• The Treaty of Tripoli hoax (60)
• Universal health care solves big problems (54)
• Here's what my father knew about the assassination of JFK (35)
• Stuck in neutral? Hardly! (35)
• Words from our forefathers (27)
• City of Lodi staff looking into possibility of limiting number of taco trucks (24)
• Majority cannot deprive the minority (23)

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Five new Lodi firefighters start work today

After completing four months of training, five new Lodi firefighters start working regular 24-hour shifts today.

The five men, all in their 20s, have been training at the Stockton Fire Department's academy, which includes work in Lodi. Last week they trained in Lodi to get a feel for the department's way of doing things, and they finished the training Friday.

Now the firefighters will work various shifts at the city's four fire stations, and they will be on probation for eight months. They fill positions left by firefighters who retired or went to work for other departments.

The new firefighters are:

David Cantu

David Cantu, 26, of Merced. He grew up in Gilroy, where he graduated from Gilroy High School and then joined the U.S. Army.

During his six years in the Army, Cantu went twice to the Middle East — four months in Iraq and seven months in Afghanistan. When he returned to the states, he began volunteering as a firefighter and found that the job had some of the same aspects he'd enjoyed in the military.

Cantu said he came to work in Lodi because it had the same close-knit community feeling he'd known in Gilroy. He currently commutes from Merced, where he lives with his wife, Stacey, and their 18-month-old son, Aiden.

Peter Doppe

Peter Doppe, 24, of Lodi. He grew up in Concord, graduated from Concord High School and then studied fire science at Butte Community College.

He got a job as a firefighter in Minden, Nev., where he worked for two years, but said he wanted to move back to California to be closer to his family.

After two years as a firefighter, Doppe has no intentions of changing careers. He said he likes the challenge of facing new things every day, and never knowing what a day will bring.

Cameron Heberle

Cameron Heberle, 22, of Lodi. The son of Lodi Fire Battalion Chief Ron Heberle, he graduated from Tokay High School and then attended San Joaquin Delta College.

Heberle became a Woodbridge Fire volunteer, then joined the U.S. Navy. He received a medical discharge after a year-and-a-half, and came home with the hopes of becoming a Lodi firefighter.

Growing up with his dad working at Lodi's fire stations made Heberle want to become part of the department, he said.

David Locke

David Locke, 23, of Lodi. He grew up in Clovis, where he graduated from Buchanan High School. He then received an associate's degree in fire science from Fresno City College.

Locke, who had wanted to be a firefighter since he was a teenager, moved to Lodi for the job. Like other new firefighters, he said the city appealed to him because it reminded him of the town where he grew up.

His fiancee, Cynthia, also lives in Lodi and is attending Sacramento State University.

Jon Pittman

Jon Pittman, 23, of Tracy. He grew up in Pleasanton and graduated from Foothill High School.

Pittman attended California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, where he received a bachelor's degree in forestry with a concentration in wildland fires.

Lodi appealed to him, he said, because it's a town similar to the place where he grew up.

Contact reporter Layla Bohm at layla@lodinews.com.