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• Fire destroys 7 buildings near Victor

• Only 400 people show up for a record yo-yo attempt, but 'record' set anyway

• News-Sentinel reporter was real yo-yo on Sunday

• I Heard it Through the Grapevine

• Regional Roundup

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 (165)
• Obama is not a moderate (130)
• Sarah Palin's book hits the shelves: Locals react (70)
• Lodi City Council plans to cap number of taco trucks at 22 (48)
• The haves should help the have-nots (30)
• Public health care is a Christian option (29)
• Tokay in, traveling to unbeaten No. 3 Grant for football playoffs (25)
• Government-run health care is a bad idea (17)
• Young woman fatally shot at Acampo home (17)
• Sierra Adventure store to close after four years in Downtown Lodi (16)

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Only 400 people show up for a record yo-yo attempt, but 'record' set anyway

Steven Speegle had hoped to draw more than 2,100 people to Hutchins Street Square on Sunday to break the world record for people dropping their yo-yos at the same time.

Only slightly more than 400 people showed up, but that didn't deter Speegle. He simply went to Plan B.

It goes like this — no one had ever dropped a miniature yo-yo, so you only needed one person to establish the record, Speegle reasoned.

So some 400 people of all ages dropped their miniature yo-yos — 1.5 inches in diameter, or slightly larger than a 50-cent piece — shortly after 2 p.m. Speegle said that's a record since no one had ever dropped a yo-yo that small.

Speegle gave away scores of red miniature yo-yos for people to use and sold some blue ones with a special Lodi commemorative seal. The $6 yo-yos were to raise money for the gymnastics team at Impact Sports Center.

"I made it go up and down," said Karen Batchelor, a grown-up from Sacramento who came to Lodi to visit her family and, yes, play with her yo-yo. Well, her son enjoys it, too.

Asked how long it's been since she played with a yo-yo, Batchelor said:"If I tell you, I'll be telling you my age."

She fessed up and said it's been 30 or 35 years.

Brandan Davidson, 8, of Herald, with a Batman mask painted on his face, said he was truly impressed with the yo-yo "record."

"I think it's pretty amazing," he said.

Speegle, who prides himself as being the California state yo-yo champion of 1961, is a child at heart. He has a collection of more than 30,000 yo-yos, about 1,000 of them on display at Hutchins Street Square. The display includes a rejection letter from Guinness Book of World Records, which informed Speegle they aren't interested in the yo-yo record he aimed to achieve on Sunday.

Chris "Dr. Yo-Yo" Allen performs tricks before a world record attempt at Hutchins Street Square on Sunday. (Dan Evans/News-Sentinel)

He also has an extensive Beatles collection, though it doesn't compare with his yo-yos.

Speegle's aim on Sunday was to promote the yo-yo. His ultimate goal is to make it an Olympic sport, he said, wearing a white T-shirt that reads, "International Yo-Yo Olympic Organization."

"I want people to think differently," he explained.

It's not a coincidence the special Lodi commemorative yo-yos sold on Sunday have a picture of a panda bear on them. That's to make a direct connection between the yo-yo and the venue for this year's summer Olympics in Beijing, China.

Speegle acknowledges that Olympic status won't happen overnight. It will have to start as a demonstration sport and be sponsored by a third-world country because a nation like the United States would probably take itself too seriously, Speegle said. Or a yo-yo demonstration could be in the works during the opening ceremonies some year, he hopes.

"I hope to introduce it (in the Olympics) before I drop dead," Speegle said.

It may sound as if Speegle is a yo-yo snob, but those without the skills are welcome to just have fun with it. He was excited to see youngsters and grown-ups alike playing with his favorite toy.

"I'm here to teach the yo-yo and be the Johnny Appleseed of the yo-yo," he said.

Contact reporter Ross Farrow at rossf@lodinews.com.