For two years, Larry Tye pored through thousands of research pages and wrote hundreds of pages about an often-overlooked American icon: baseball great Leroy “Satchel” Paige. Satchel’s story, said Tye, is about overcoming “every obstacle any human being could ever imagine.”

John Matthew Peltier and Diane Marie Betzen, both of Wichita, will exchange wedding vows on July 10 at Derby.

Derek and Lauren Burkhart, Pratt, are the parents of a baby boy, Ross James, born at 9:54 p.m. June 2, 2009, at Pratt Regional Medical Center.

Spencer and Karen Pearson, Beloit, announce the birth of their daughter, Katelyn Ann, on June 10, 2009, at Salina Regional Health Center.

Randy and Kim Fritzemeier, Stafford, announce the engagement of their daughter, Jill Renee, to Eric Jay Ladd, son of Alan and Christy Ladd, Atlantic, Iowa.

Mark and Jennifer Whitebread, Medicine Lodge, are the parents of a baby boy, Brandon Tyler, born at 4:21 p.m. June 25, 2009, at Pratt Regional Medical Center.

Tina Caldwell and Rowland Keith, Coldwater, announce the birth of a son, Jayden Lynn, at 8:56 p.m. June 23, 2009, at Pratt Regional Medical Center.

When consumers toss unused household chemicals and other hazardous items into the garbage, they wind up in municipal landfills, which often are not equipped to handle this kind of waste. But keeping cleaning solutions, insecticides and other items around the house has its dangers. Many household cleaning products, pest-control chemicals and lawn-care chemicals can be replaced with more natural, less toxic methods.

Kari Chad and Corey Neuhold were united in marriage May 29, 2009, at Haviland Friends Church. Parents of the couple are Paul and Laura Chadd, Greensburg, and Michael and Edna Neuhold, Vilas, Colo.

Loretta Hadsell is retiring from Parkwood Village where she has worked as a certified medication aide for the past 16 years. 

An unusual chance to see a close pairing of Jupiter and Neptune awaits the next clear night. Due to its magnificence, brilliant Jupiter is easy to pick out and probably most people have seen it without even knowing it. Neptune, however, although it is a giant planet as well, is so far away very few people have ever seen it. This is a chance to find Neptune with a pair of binoculars or a small telescope with little trouble, since it is close by the King of Planets, Jupiter.

When I was a teenager, there was a summer when I survived on Oreo cookies, Carnation Instant Breakfast and the occasional Dairy Queen Blizzard. Today, I have a teen of my own who has to fend for himself most days during the summer. Like most parents, I'm not a nutritionist, but I know better than to let him con me into filling the house with junk food. What's harder is finding easy, healthy food that he'll take the time to fix and won't be bored of after a week or two.

In the early 1980s, you couldn’t turn on MTV without seeing a Huey Lewis and the News video. That was a time when peppy pop music dominated the airwaves and when music videos actually played 24-7 on the venerable music channel.

Agnes Greer (center) a longtime resident of Pratt and widow of Bill Greer, celebrated her 102nd birthday on June 13 with her son, Wally Foutch Sr., grandson, Wallace Foutch II, and her great-grandchildren. Agnes resides at Autumn Care Nursing Home, 360 Old Balsam Rd., Waynesville, NC 28786. She loves to hear from friends in Pratt, but due to a stroke, she is no longer able to write letters.

Randy and Angie Mertens, Cunningham, are the parents of a baby girl, Kaylee Grace, born at 5:03 p.m. June 22, 2009, at Pratt Regional Medical Center. She weighed 7 pounds, 7 ounces and was 19 1/2 inches long.