Another face leaves the scene in Genoa

Last week I attended the farewell party for Genoa postal worker Margaret Elmer, who has given up on Nevada to move to Tyler, Texas.

Margaret is a Smith Valley resident, who was born in Stockton and then moved to Yerington when she was a baby. She left Lyon County after high school, but returned with her husband to settle in Smith Valley 22 years ago.

She went to work with the post office in 1995, working in Smith Valley, Topaz and Wellington and Genoa.

Margaret said she has a job waiting for her with the post office in Tyler, where her sister lives.

Her new home has yet to be built, but will sit on four acres on the shore of a pond about 27 miles south of Tyler.

About 20 Genoans held a potluck lunch at the post office in honor of Margaret's last day, which was Oct. 5.

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I heard from Lynne Wood, who said her daughter, Douglas High School junior April donated her hair three times to Locks of Love.

Lynne sent me before and after photos of April, whose total is up to 3 1/2 feet so far.

This last time she donated was last month and she got 14 1/2 inches of hair.

Locks of Love is a non-profit organization that makes wigs out of real hair for children and teenagers who've lost their hair to cancer.

"Having real hair really cheers them up," Lynne said.

To donate, the hair has to be at least 12 inches long, with no bleach or color. The address is 2925 10th Ave. Suite 102, Lake Worth FL 33461.

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Today we start a promotion that while featuring a turkey, doesn't necessarily mean anyone has to get the bird.

Every issue of The Record-Courier will contain a notice with a turkey in it that lists a subscriber's name. That person has a week to come in, show identification and receive a $15 gift certificate to Raley's. Now if you want to take that $15 and buy a turkey, that's your business. Do whatever you want with it. We'll be doing this through the rest of the year.

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Gary Weidner, who played Sheriff Brockliss in "The Curse of the Hanging Tree," suggested I run an item about a scam people pretending to be the Internal Revenue Service are pulling.

According to IRS.gov, taxpayers are receiving e-mails telling them the government has calculated their fiscal activity and they are eligible for a refund if they click on a link. The site appears to be legitimate and asks for a social security number and filing status. It also asks the person to enter their credit card number, which is the hook.

Just as you should never give a credit card number to someone who calls you out of the blue, you should never write it on an e-mail under the same circumstances.

These guys are pretty tricky and all they need to get is one or two people to fall for their scam in order to steal a lot of money.

-- Kurt Hildebrand is editor of The Record-Courier. Reach him at khildebrand@recordcourier.com or 782-5121, ext. 215.