NOVI — Local youth were able to learn leadership skills from various police officers and firefighters during the weeklong Police and Fire Youth Leadership Academy held at the Novi Police Department Training Center July 25-29.

NOVI — Chuck E. Cheese Novi recognized the variety of challenges that children who have autism encounter, including social interaction, so the newly renovated restaurant known for its Fun Centers gave children with autism and other developmental disabilities the opportunity to be “first to play” ahead of the establishment’s grand reopening celebration July 28.

NOVI — After nearly two years without a playground, children at Village Oaks Elementary School, 23333 Willowbrook Drive in Novi, will have a playground to use sometime this fall, according to an announcement from Novi Community School District Superintendent Ben Mainka.

NOVI — The Novi Community School District Board of Education approved a contract with Ben Mainka to serve as district superintendent during the board’s regular meeting July 14.

NOVI — An 11-year-old entrepreneur is working to rebuild his business after his mobile gaming bus was broken into at a Wixom storage facility in early June.

NOVI — Thousands of people attended the Festival of Chariots, an Indian spiritual and cultural festival also known as the Rathyatra, held in Novi July 17, according to event spokesman Madhu Mahadevan.

NOVI — After a lengthy interview process, the Novi Community School District Board of Education voted unanimously to select Benjamin Mainka as its next superintendent during a meeting June 30.

NOVI — The 37th annual Festival of Chariots, a 1,000 year-old spiritual festival from India, which is celebrated around the world, will take place in Novi July 17.

NOVI — Strange things are on the horizon at the Suburban Collection Showplace, as it will host the 2022 Oddities & Curiosities Expo on Saturday.

NOVI — A crash on Novi Road on Wednesday morning resulted in the death of a 54-year-old Waterford woman.

NOVI — A Rochester Hills man was sentenced in Oakland County Circuit Court June 14 for attempting to have sex with a minor, following the actions of the Indianapolis-based nonprofit, Predator Catchers.

NOVI — Carol Timmer, 91, a resident of the Waltonwood Twelve Oaks retirement community in Novi, was reunited with her sister and nieces June 21, thanks to the “Adventures by Waltonwood” program.

NOVI — A Novi couple placed within the top 10 in multiple events at the National Senior Games in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, last month.

NOVI — Daily commutes will now take a little longer as Interstate 96 has been reduced to two lanes from Kent Lake to Wixom Roads because the I-96 Flex Route project has moved into its next phase.   

FARMINGTON HILLS — Carol McGorisk, a kindergarten teacher at Longview Elementary School, was presented with the Judy White-Ora Teaching with Heart and Soul Award during the Farmington Public Schools Board of Education meeting June 7.