Dayton couple's in-law gets Postal Service stamp of approval

Lots of people produce handmade gifts for Christmas, but they've got nothing on Dayton resident Judy Harris' daughter-in-law.

Diane Teske Harris is a freelance illustrator in Billings, Mont., who created this year's holiday stamps for the U.S. Post Office.

Diane is married to Judy and Ed's son, who teaches economics at Montana State University.

The 37-cent stamps are the Post Office's non¼religious offering and feature drawings of Santa Claus and reindeer.

According to an article in the Billings Gazette, Diane started working on the stamps in 1999 and they were originally slated to be released in 2001. But after the Sept. 11 attacks, she told a reporter the stamps were too festive for the country's mood.

The Harris' have lived in Dayton for 17 years and Judy says she's gotten several cards from family members sporting the new stamps.

"My cousins from Great Falls wrote on their card that Diane was interviewed on television," Judy said.

Judy is 78 years old and Ed is 79. They retired from California where Ed was a math professor.

Judy was one of the organizers for the final Capital City Community Concert in May.

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Carson City resident Maureene Gieg's son will spend Christmas in Iraq with the U.S. Air Force.

A 1996 graduate of Carson High School, Randy Middaugh, 26, left from his station at Moody Air Force Base in Valdosta, Ga., just before Thanksgiving.

Randy signed up for another hitch in the Air Force recently. He is a staff sergeant and has been to Saudi Arabia and Turkey, according to Maureene.

"He has it better than my nephew, who got sent to Iraq straight out of boot camp," she said.

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Members of the Leisure Hour Club had such a great time at their Wednesday night Christmas Party they've decided to share their "12 Days of Christmas" bit.

Club members acted out the world's longest song at their annual Christmas Party, according to member Dottie Kellie. Dottie's husband, Bill, did the singing.

"It was really fun," she said. "Bill sings and stops after the first day. One member hangs a sign on the tree that says 'Pear Tree,' and someone else hits a birdie into the tree with a racquet. Each one of them is funny and different."

Dottie says club members plan to perform at the Evergreen Care Center on College Parkway.

"We want to involve the patients in this," she said.

I won't tell you what they have planned, because I don't want to spoil the surprise.

The Leisure Hour Club is Carson City's oldest, claiming a lineage of more than 100 years.

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If someone claiming to be from the power company calls you and demands a credit card number or they'll turn your power off, ask them for a name and employee identification number.

Gary Aldax, a spokesman for the company and son of Carson Valley's Andy and Carol Aldax, issued the warning last week.

People who are in danger of having their power cut off receive a written 10-day notice, not a phone call.

Kurt Hildebrand is city editor at the Nevada Appeal. Reach him at hildebrand@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1215.