Stories from Tuesday, June 29, 2010

The Oskaloosa Free Will Baptist Church will present the First Annual Fireworks Festival in Arcadia on Saturday beginning at 2:30 p.m. with a turtle race. A three-legged race will be held at 3:30. Relays and foot taces will be held at 4:30. At 5:30, there will be a free dinner in the Community Center withhamburgers, hot dogs, chips and soda. ...

Hot summer days: Not only can they be uncomfortable, but they can also be dangerous -- even deadly. When the temperature rises, our bodies can quickly become dehydrated. Drinking plenty of fluids --especially water -- is important. The human body is about two-thirds water. Dehydration occurs when a person loses more water than he takes in -- by sweating, for example. Playing outdoors, working in the heat, or just being in a warmer temperature increases the need for more water...

One-year warning periods set to expire on seat-belt, left-lane laws

Some changes have been made to a popular Independence Day tradition at Gunn Park. An event that has taken place each Fourth of July at Gunn Park since 2004 will no longer be called Freedom Fest after the dissolution of the Gunn Park Event Committee, a local group of volunteers that had organized each event and other special community events at Gunn Park up until 2009. ...

The Fourth of July is a time for celebration across the United States, and in Kansas, fireworks are a crowd favorite each year. Whether at a professional show or in the backyard, fireworks can be fun to watch -- but they can also be very dangerous. In 2007, an estimated 2,600 children 14 years of age and younger were treated in U.S. ...

The most rewarding of Fort Scott High School graduate Adam LaRoche's passions is, naturally, baseball. But LaRoche, the Arizona Diamondback's starting first baseman has another passion that, although it may not reward him as much financially, gives him the same excitement as he finds on the baseball field: Hunting...

An episode of the History Channel program "American Pickers" that featured a visit to Bourbon County will be aired at 8 p.m. Monday night on the History Channel. "American Pickers" is a show that documents the cross-country travels of Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz as they look for hidden gems in junkyards, basements, garages and barns...

GIRARD -- The Crawford County Sheriff's Department has joined with the American Association of Retired Persons to offer a Driver Safety Course. AARP developed the eight-hour classroom refresher course to help drivers 50 years of age and older to improve their skills and prevent traffic accidents...

The Burke Street Parade, an annual event to celebrate the Fourth of July, has been a local tradition for nearly 30 years. The parade typically begins at 10 a.m. July 4 each year, however, since July 4 falls on a Sunday this year, organizers have changed the parade's start time to 12:15 p.m. so as not to interfere with the church plans of people who plan to watch or participate in the parade, co-organizer Margaret Humphrey said...

The United States Supreme Court ruled Monday that the U.S. Constitution protects the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms from state and local encroachment. Monday's 5-4 decision came as a result of the McDonald v. Chicago decision that challenged the city's ban of the ownership of firearms as a violation of the U.S. Constitution...

Although climbing the ladder of success seems to have been swift for Fort Scott native Spencer Lee, those who have watched him grow up are not surprised by his recent accomplishments. "He's always been a joy to work with," Lee's elementary school music teacher Charlotte Swaim said. "He's a natural talent. From the time he was in kindergarten, he could sing everything on pitch."...