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Kenneth Sowles, 24, was driving north when he lost all power steering in his 1998 Ford Contour, according to the California Highway Patrol. Sowles then veered off the road and struck three utility poles destroying them Monday at 9:17 a.m. (Brian Feulner/News-Sentinel)
Regional Roundup
Solo collision closes West Lane for hours
A Lodi man and his 2-year-old daughter escaped serious injury Monday morning when their car struck three power poles on West Lane.
The 9:17 a.m. collision sent power poles and wires crashing to the roadway south of Harney Lane. Both northbound lanes were closed for several hours as Pacific Gas and Electric crews repaired the damage.
One of the poles was a main distributor for power, so crews had to fix a number of wires, according to the California Highway Patrol.
One lane reopened just after 1 p.m., but crews remained on scene until after 4:30 p.m.
The crash happened when Kenneth Sowles, 24, was driving north and said he lost all power steering, said CHP Officer Adrian Quintero. Sowles' 1998 Ford Contour veered off the road and struck the three poles before stopping. Sowles had complaints of pain and his daughter had an abrasion from an object that hit her inside the car during the collision, Quintero said. Father and daughter were taken to Lodi Memorial Hospital by ambulance with minor injuries.
The girl was in a child seat and investigators did not suspect drugs or alcohol were involved, Quintero said. Sowles told officers he was driving around 40 mph, but the exact speed was still under investigation.
Police giving away Christmas trees today
If you haven't gotten a Christmas tree yet, today's the day to get a free one.
The Police Officers Association of Lodi is coordinating the tree give-away at Emanuel Lutheran Church, 1540 W. Lodi Ave. The event will start around 9 a.m. and last until the trees are gone, said Lodi Police Cpl. Scott Bratton.
The trees were donated by Art's Christmas Trees, which was set up at the Grape Festival grounds.
Each year the business travels south from Oregon, but when the winter weather starts to get bad, they leave in time to make it over the Siskiyou mountains at the California/Oregon border.
The tree lot donates the leftovers to the police association, which then gives away the trees on a first come, first served basis.
Project Lodi Art seeks artists, designers
Project Lodi Art is seeking design entries for the upcoming Sidewalk Mosaic Medallions contest. The deadline for submissions has been moved to no later than 5 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 30. All submissions should be delivered to the Hutchins Street Square Arts Office. Here is more information about the contest:
For additional information please contact J. Mark Hamilton (405-0121, jmarkhamilton@gmail.com) or Diane Amaral (333-5511, damaral@lodi.gov).
Salvation Army seeks gifts for needy children
The Salvation Army is still seeking members of the community to "adopt" a child by purchasing a Christmas gift for needy children in the area. The organization has placed angel trees at local businesses, which are decorated with angel ornaments that include names and profiles of children along with their Christmas wishes.
Lt. Dan Williams, of the Salvation Army, said there are many more angel tags left out in the community along with an additional 200 at the Salvation Army. Although, the deadline to purchase toys was Monday, Williams said they will still take donations up through the rest of the week. The Salvation Army plans to start bagging the toys by Wednesday to get ready for distribution by Monday.
"We are running out of time and not getting enough toys. We can really use the community's help," said Williams.
Angel trees have been placed at Wal-Mart, Geweke, Cocos and Giant Discount Tire Center. Toys can also be dropped off at the Salvation Army, 525 W. Lockeford St. For more information, call Lt. Kim Williams at 369-5896.
Man robbed by men selling fake laptop
A man who stopped to get money at an ATM in Flag City was robbed after two men tried to sell him a fake laptop Sunday afternoon.
The 58-year-old man was in the Flying J parking lot near his truck around 3:30 p.m. when two men approached. They asked if he was interested in buying an Acer laptop computer, held out a sealed box and began describing the details, according to the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office.
The man reached out with his right hand to take the box for closer inspection. His left hand was still in his jacket pocket, holding $100 in cash he'd just taken from the ATM inside the market.
One of the suspects suddenly grabbed the man's left arm, found the cash, took it and both men ran. The victim chased them but they got away and headed east toward Lodi in a two-door gray or black car, possibly a Toyota Celica, according to a Sheriff's report.
The victim was still holding the box, which he opened. Inside he found phone books that had apparently been used to weigh down the box. It did not contain a computer.
The suspects were described as black men between the ages of 20 and 25. One was 5 feet 8 inches tall, 120 pounds with a shaved head, brown eyes, baggy black pants and a black hooded sweatshirt with a yellow emblem on it. The other man was 6 feet tall, 140 to 150 pounds with black hair, brown eyes, a hooded nylon jacket and black nylon pants with a blue stripe down the side.
Mosque proposal goes before county planners
A Muslim mosque is proposed on the eastern Highway 99 frontage road near Shippee Lane in Morada.
The San Joaquin County Planning Commission will consider a use permit Thursday for the mosque called the Madina Center, which is owned by Masjid Umar Farooq.
Plans call for a mosque with a capacity of 282 people and five buildings for prayer services and Sunday classes for children on two acres. There would be five daily prayer services ranging from 15 to 30 minutes with about 25 people expected. The larger Friday afternoon prayer service is expected to draw 282 people, according to the county Community Development Department. Religious study is planned for 2 to 4 p.m. on Sundays for about 40 children.
Thursday's commission meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. at the county's Public Health/Planning Auditorium, 1601 E. Hazelton Ave., Stockton.
Delta Greens back on Galt Council's agenda
The Delta Greens senior retirement community project will be before the Galt City Council once again tonight.
At the meeting, Jerry Slinkard, a consulting engineer for the property owners, will present a report addressing concerns the council prieviously had with the project.
Slinkard said he wants the project to evenutally be included in the General Plan. Instead of holding up the process, he will suggest the council approve the General Plan as is and then amend it later to include the Delta Greens project.
The Delta Greens is proposed on Twin Cities Road west of Highway 99 near the Consumnes River Preserve and the city's wastewater treament plant.
The original project called for a 2,500-home subdivision northwest of Galt on 14,000 acres.
The project was included in the General Plan until 2006, when councilmen Donald Haines, Andrew Meredith and Tim Raboy removed it.
The original developer backed out of the project. Now, the project organizers would still need a developer and would have to submit plans to the city, including an environmental impact report.
Where are the best Christmas lights?
The News-Sentinel is looking for the best Christmas light displays in the Lodi and Galt areas to be part of a photo essay to be published in the newspaper.
If you know of a house or business that has an amazing holiday display, contact News-Sentinel Photo Chief Brian Feulner at 369-7035 or brianf@lodinews.com.
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galt citizen wrote on Dec 17, 2008 8:38 PM:
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