Twins support their infantry dad

Two young Carson City residents showed their support for the troops on Saturday afternoon.

Nine-year-old twins Frankie and Victoria Norton were standing along Carson Street wearing sandwich board signs saying they support their father, Staff Sgt. Chris Norton, who is in the U.S. Army.

Their mom is Nevada Appeal crime reporter, Fran "F.T." Norton, who is herself a U.S. Army veteran.

Fran and Chris met in the Army's 3rd Infantry Division and were stationed in Germany during the first Gulf War. As I point out to anyone who'll listen, Fran carried the M-60 machine gun for her squad during boot camp.

The twins were born at Fort Carson, Colo., and now attend Bordewich-Bray Elementary School. I met the twins and their mother when she came to work for me on the Appeal's night desk in November 1998.

They have been keeping in touch with their father through the Internet and have received two e-mails from him. They put together a care package for their dad, which included a St. Christopher medal blessed at St. Teresa.

Fran says Chris is doing OK and that the twins are very proud of their father, who is in the infantry.

The twins' signs were designed by Appeal desk editor Randy Wrighthouse, a recent arrival to Western Nevada.

Randy works the night desk, designing pages for the next day's issue. He came to Carson in January from Salem, Ore., where he worked for Capital Press.

The 43-year-old has been working in newspapers for about 15 years. He started out in photography and served as a photo editor.

Randy and his wife, Karen, have five children; Rebecca, Aaron, Jonathan, Rachael, and Daniel. The family is living on five acres near Lake Lahontan in Silver Springs.

Randy trains horses and flies remote-control aircraft. The family keeps five horses, three dogs and an undetermined number of cats.

Carson's Kiwanis were hopping and bopping at their annual luau Saturday night.

I spotted member Ken Beaton hauling stuff up to the second floor of the Carson Nugget, where the event is held.

Ken didn't have time to talk, just time to move stuff.

One of my first column items three years ago was about the Kiwanis, but I got their name wrong and called them Lions or Rotarians or some such.

I got a well-deserved earful when I went to one of their meetings a short time after I took charge of the Appeal's newsroom.

The Luau is their big fund-raising event. It allows them to fund scholarships and do good works such as supporting the Friends In Service Helping shelter down in Stewart.

I've received word from Rebecca Goldenberg, whose dispatches from Morocco appeared in the Appeal for about a year, that she is returning to the United States.

She is in Tanzania working for the United Nations' Olympic Aid Program. She also found time to take a photo safari, where she found that zebras migrate in single file.

She is enjoying her time in Africa, but will be returning home to attend graduate school in September.

In the meantime, she plans on spending some time in France with her little brother, David.

Cable Access Television's Web site is off the Internet after the host was bought out recently.

CAT-10's executive director Craig Swope says he's not too worried by the loss, since the Web address was not the easiest to remember.

The station is working on finding a sponsor to help pay for its next Web site, and hopefully a catchier address.

A pair of shoes has adorned one of the wires crossing Highway 50 in downtown Dayton for most of this week. I spotted them Tuesday and remembered I'd seen another pair hanging off one of the light poles in my neighborhood.

It may seem like innocent fun, but it is no joke fooling around with power lines.

I remember that just after the movie "Like Mike" came out, a power company issued a press release reminding people that grabbing a pair of shoes hanging off a power line is way more likely to kill someone than to give them super powers.

Kurt Hildebrand is former managing editor of the Nevada Appeal. Reach him at 887-2430, ext. 402 or e-mail him at kurt@tahoe.com