NOVI — Since opening Ronaldo Candido Academy Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in 2018, Candido has brought the art of jiu-jitsu to Novi and its surrounding areas, allowing children and adults to train and grow with their mixed martial arts craft.

NOVI — A once-in-a-generation kind of player, Novi senior Reganne Bennett was the program-altering star the team needed throughout her three years on varsity, and her impact finally earned the recognition it deserved.

NOVI — George Freeman, of Novi, has qualified for and participated in every National Senior Games event since it was founded in 1985. At 91, he refuses to let age slow him down and is continuing to make strides in sports, particularly running and bowling.

NOVI — Novi and Northville are now home to two internationally renowned pickleball players after they made their mark in overseas play.

News & Notes from the 7/27/23 Novi Note

NOVI — The Novi Police Department is grieving the loss of one of its own. K-9 Diesel, a decorated three-year veteran of the Novi Police Department, died at home July 20 after suffering an undisclosed medical complication.

NOVI — Things that might typically be dubbed strange, weird and just plain odd were highlighted at the annual Oddities & Curiosities Expo July 15 at the Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi.

NOVI — This past academic year, Sanjith Udupa became the third student from Novi High School to earn the coveted FIRST Robotics Dean’s List Award and the only Michigan student to earn the honor in 2023.

NOVI — Thousands gathered in Novi July 23 to celebrate the 38th annual Festival of Chariots, a Hindu cultural festival put on by the Iskcon Temple in Detroit.

OAKLAND COUNTY — Bloomfield Hills resident Pecky D. Lewis Jr., who died at his home July 10 at the age of 94, left his mark on Oakland County through his long service on the county’s Parks and Recreation Commission, as a longtime business owner and as the mayor of Royal Oak in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

News & Notes from the 7/13/23 Novi Note

NOVI — Residents filled the Novi City Council chamber to its 140-person seating capacity, and still more filed in for standing room along the walls, into the media seating area, and into the Civic Center lobby during a Planning Commission hearing June 7 to voice their opposition to and concerns about the construction of a new apartment complex.

NOVI — A district court judge recused himself from a case July 12 as a result of the defendant allegedly making threats against him and his family.

NOVI — Novi senior Alicen Liu is a cornerstone of Novi High School tennis, and she made history in her senior year.

NOVI — In order to avoid a financial shortfall in the 2023-24 school year, the Novi Community School District is having a special election Aug. 8. On the ballot are both the district’s operating millage and its recreational millage.

NOVI — After a six-month, nationwide search and a lengthy executive session, the Novi City Council voted unanimously June 5 to offer the city manager position to Victor Cardenas, who had been serving as the interim city manager.

NOVI — After a 48-hour multistate search, police apprehended a New Hudson man July 7 who allegedly threatened on social media to kill his court-appointed attorney and a Novi district court judge.

News & Notes from the 6/29/23 Novi Note

NOVI — After 12 years as principal of Novi Woods Elementary School and 28 years with the Novi Community School District, David Ascher officially entered retirement, or as he prefers to think of it, “repurposement,”  June 28.

NOVI — Matt Heslop, one of the first students to enter the Novi Adult Transition Center program, which teaches life and employment skills to people ages 18-26 who have various cognitive disabilities, graduated June 8 with a part-time job offer from Chartwells School Dining Services.