Novi Note

Published September 10, 2021

Novi High School robotics team inducted into FIRST Robotics Hall of Fame

NOVI — Novi High School’s robotics team, Team 503, or “Frog Force” as they call themselves, has had a number of accomplishments to celebrate during its history, but this past August, the team celebrated its most rewarding accomplishment yet.

Published September 10, 2021

Community survey results to help guide Novi Fire Department’s strategic plan

NOVI — Survey data and community commentary gathered from residents and local businesses by the city this past August will be used to help the Novi Fire Department update its strategic plan and progress in its application to become an accredited department.

Published September 9, 2021

Silver medalist, Berkley native recounts journey that led to Olympic dreams

BERKLEY — More than a month ago, weightlifter Kate Nye was in an arena in Tokyo waiting to go before judges in an attempt to pursue her dreams of becoming an Olympic medalist.

Published September 8, 2021

Boy, 7, dies after being found unresponsive in pond

NOVI — A 7-year-old boy died Aug. 31, five days after his father found him unresponsive in a pond in the 50000 block of Nine Mile Road during the afternoon Aug. 26.

Published September 8, 2021

Four-legged employees welcomed to Novi schools

NOVI — Students at eight of the Novi Community School District’s buildings will now have a new four-legged, furry emotional support friend for the 2021-22 school year.

Published September 8, 2021

Experts discuss dorm room glow-ups

METRO DETROIT — As colleges and universities welcome students back, those who opt to reside on campus are faced with the challenge of how to decorate often small and blank-walled dormitories.

Published September 8, 2021

It’s time for a screen time reset

METRO DETROIT — Screen time has been in the spotlight for years, and there are even apps that monitor and enforce limits on the amount of time users spend on a phone, tablet or other electronic device.

Drummer and “huge” Rolling Stones fan Brian Pastoria, of Warren, got an autograph from Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts after they both appeared in the book “Sticks ‘N’ Skins.” Watts died Aug. 24.

Published September 8, 2021

Local fans, musicians remember drummer Charlie Watts

METRO DETROIT — Rock ‘n’ roll fans around the world were saddened when Charlie Watts — one of music’s best-known drummers who, for decades, provided the backbeat for the Rolling Stones — died Aug. 24.

Michigan Chapter Walkers — like those pictured here — will return to the Detroit Zoo for the annual Alzheimer’s Association Detroit Walk to End Alzheimer’s this fall.

Published September 8, 2021

Walkers hope to make strides in battle against Alzheimer’s disease

ROYAL OAK — Alzheimer’s disease stole Colton Dale’s chance to get to know his grandfather, who developed it when Dale was very young. What sticks in Dale’s mind is the way his otherwise stoic father reacted to his own father’s deteriorating mental state.

Published September 8, 2021

Mask mandate divides the school community in Novi

NOVI — Mask-wearing for staff and students at school became a hot-button issue once again Aug. 25 at the Novi Community School District’s Board of Education meeting after Oakland County Executive David Coulter announced Aug. 24 a new emergency health order, from the Oakland County Health Division, mandating facial coverings in all day cares and vocational, elementary, middle and high schools.

Published September 7, 2021

RTA finalizing master plan on area’s transit needs

OAKLAND COUNTY — For the past several months, the Regional Transit Authority of Southeast Michigan has been holding open houses to gather information for an update to its regional master transit plan.

Published August 30, 2021

Boy, 7, hospitalized after nearly drowning

CPR given by a father helped his 7-year-old boy after he was found unresponsive in a pond in the 5000 block of Nine Mile Road during the afternoon Aug. 26.

Published August 30, 2021

Michigan State Fair to return to in-person programming

NOVI — After a year of fully virtual programming, the Michigan State Fair, hosted at the Suburban Collection Showplace, will return to in-person festivities for the 2021 season.

Published August 29, 2021

Automotive business relocates headquarters to Novi, invests $1.9M

NOVI — One of the nation’s leading providers of die-casting solutions for the automotive industry, Pace Industries now calls Novi its home after it moved its corporate headquarters from Arkansas.

Novi resident and library cardholder Marcia Davis stands in front of the Lakeshore Lending Library, Michigan’s first self-service library kiosk, at Lakeshore Park.

Published August 28, 2021

Self-service library kiosk opens at Lakeshore Park

NOVI — Library lovers, readers and cinephiles have a new space to check out popular materials on the city’s north end at Lakeshore Park.

Published August 27, 2021

School district to begin year with in-person, virtual options

NOVI — Novi Community School District Superintendent Steve Matthews announced at the Aug. 5 Board of Education meeting that families and staff within the district will have two options for enrollment at the start of the 2021-22 school year.

Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police President Ronald Wiles, left, presents Novi Police Chief David Molloy with the MACP’s presidential medal at the 2021 Summer Professional Conference Awards Banquet.

Published August 27, 2021

Novi police chief awarded MACP’s presidential medal

NOVI — It’s an award that the Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police doesn’t give out every year — only when a nominee meets all the criteria — and this year, Novi Police Chief David Molloy met those marks.

Pictured is a Habitat for Humanity of Oakland County home in Southfield. Habitat has helped make home ownership a reality for some local residents.

Published August 26, 2021

Habitat for Humanity continues to help in altered housing market

OAKLAND COUNTY — For many people, owning a home is one of their greatest aspirations in life.

Published August 26, 2021

Novi unveils new inclusive playground at Ella Mae Power Park

NOVI — A new inclusive playground built by the city at Ella Mae Power Park has something for everyone, Parks and Recreation Director Jeff Muck believes, including seniors and those who have physical or cognitive disabilities.

Published August 25, 2021

Get an inside look at the homes of interior designers

METRO DETROIT — If you’ve ever toured a designers’ show house or hired an interior designer, you’ve seen how interior designers can reimagine a space in a host of astonishingly inventive ways. But how do these designers decorate their own homes?