Students qualified for separate national competitions in steel bridge construction and concrete canoe building

(BPT) - Soccer camps, wilderness camps, chess camps, language camps – whatever interests your child, there’s a camp for him or her.

(BPT) - The word “vacation” means different things to different people. For some, it’s lounging poolside and sleeping until noon. Others, however, savor the opportunity to get outside, try some new activities and indulge in their favorite pastimes for days on end. If you’re one of the latter group, there are few better places to travel than right here in the United States.

Floating on Lodi Lake, eight paddlers were bundled up against the chilly air. In their bright orange, yellow and white kayaks, the group looked like a collection of determined ducks ready to take off.

Open, smooth water. Trees trailing their long branches into the current. Birds, beavers and fish going about their business a few feet away.

I’m not even sure what to say at this point, besides thank God summer’s over. It has been quite an ordeal, and I suppose it’s only fitting that that the season goes out on a grossly disappointing note involving a sub-par sequel. Now we’ve just got to contend with that uneasy transitional period between the summer and fall movie seasons, and we may actually have some good movies to talk about. I’m waiting with breath that is bated.

As “The Expendables 2” rolls into theaters across the globe (look for the review next week), the 2012 summer movie comes to a close — and I honestly can’t remember ever being more depressed as a moviegoer.

Last week I offered a few brief thoughts on some cultural issues surrounding the movie theater shootings in Aurora, Colo., and events that have taken place since then suggest that I failed to address one of the key questions surrounding this tragedy: Is it safe to go to the movies anymore?

Barajas, Zoey Lynn, a girl, born July 8, 2012 to Jameson Barajas and Brandy Hoffman of Lodi.

One of the most stand-out memories from my childhood is traveling by car every other year to my father's home state of Minnesota.

You don’t have to say “I’m bored!” Start a summer bucket list. Here are some ideas to get you started:

Take a drive east on Highway 88 out of Lodi. Keep your eyes open as you wind through vineyards and cattle pastures. Before you’ve gone 10 miles, you’ll encounter the quaint unincorporated community of Clements.

The California State Indian Museum, located in Sacramento, opened in 1940. The museum depicts three major themes of California Indian life, including nature, spirit and family.

It's a secret, quiet oasis where local residents can stroll under large live oak trees and carry an inner-tube out to the slow-moving Mokelumne River. But most people do not know about this nature trail where large bucks and wild turkeys roam, and bat and owl boxes dot the landscape.

As a boat turns out of Lodi Lake, the sluggish Mokelumne River opens up to towering trees and soaring birds.

“Thank you” was the phrase heard most often from four girls during the Lodi American Association of University Women kick-off lunch, held on Aug. 20. The girls had been sponsored by the group to attend Tech Trek science/math summer camp at California State University, Fresno.

The city of Lodi owns 3.7 acres of land along the Mokelumne River that has been fenced off from the public for decades. For years, neighbors and police have had to deal with drugs, trespassers, vagrants and litter. At present, this parcel is an attractive nuisance and a neighborhood problem.

A group of Mokelumne River Village residents — at times yelling or booing — voiced their adamant opposition to opening up a piece of property on Awani Drive for public access to the river.

For decades, there have been questions about the future of a vacant, city-owned property bordered by railroad tracks, the Mokelumne River and a residential neighborhood.