I AM NOVI - August 18

Pop into a park for movie night

Inside Out Friday at Fuerst Park, The Good Dinosaur Aug. 30 at Pavilion Shore

There are only two chances left to round up the family and check out a free outdoor movie in Novi.

The Sizzling Summer Art Series comes to a close tomorrow night with the showing of Inside Out at Fuerst Park. Join us for some family-friendly festivities starting at 7pm, with the movie starting at dusk. If it does rain, the movie will move inside the Novi Civic Center.

If you can't make Friday - or just want to double up on the movies - head over to Pavilion Shore Park on Tuesday, August 30 at 6pm for the Movie on the Shore. Live music from the Tringali Brothers starts at 6:30pm, followed by the movie The Good Dinosaur at 8:20pm. The Chicken Shack and Kona Ice food trucks will be out for patrons to purchase treats.

Free mammography screenings

Providence Park Hospital's mobile mammography bus comes to Novi on Oct. 18

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and the City has partnered with Providence Park Hospital to bring the Anthony L. Soave Family Mobile Mammography & Health Screening Center to the Novi Civic Center on October 18 from 9-3pm.

The private screening center on wheels, which features advanced 3D/Tomosynthesis imaging, is covered by most insurances and will take only 15 minutes to complete. All images are read by board certified radiologists, and results will be sent to the patient and their primary care physician.

If you are a woman age 40 and older who has not had their mammogram this year, you can make an appointment by calling 248.567.0316 or emailing [email protected] and completing the registration form found on cityofnovi.org. Appointment times are on a first come basis. Appointments can be made in 15 minute increments.

To learn more about the mobile screening center, visit stjohnprovidence.org.

Fire safety tips for college students

Keep fire safety in mind when you move into your off-campus college home

As college students get ready to head back to school and move into their off-campus houses, it is important to make sure their house is a fire-safe environment and they are educated on now to stay safe.

Since 2000, there have been 89 fires at universities across the United States and 126 students who have died as a result. All of those deaths occurred in off-campus housing and not dorm rooms.

The Novi Fire Department encourages parents to have their children check to make sure there are working smoke alarms on every level of the home and inside bedrooms. They also should be aware of two ways to get out of their bedroom in case of a fire.

Cooking is the leading cause of fires. Students should never store items on the stove, only cook where it is permitted, stay in the kitchen while cooking and cook only when you are alert.

For more information, visit usfa.fema.gov/prevention.

City treating Phragmites stands

Common reed causes issues for wetlands, potentially present a fire hazard

The City will soon be taking steps to get c ommon reed (Phragmites astralis) under control. Phragmites is a large grass that typically grows in wet areas and can be a nuisance, block views and potentially present a fire hazard. It also can completely takeover wetlands and remove many of the natural benefits they provide.

In an effort to control the problem the City will be treating Phragmites stands with a herbicide that is safe to humans and wildlife. The City is taking on this project to preserve our views, wetlands, drain ways and property values.

Only stands in the City and Road Commission for Oakland County right-of-way, parks and City-managed detention ponds will be treated. This will occur in late August through September. Follow up treatments will occur over the next two years to be sure the stands are eradicated.

Residents also are encouraged to kill the Phragmites on their own properties/open spaces so it will not spread back to the areas the City is treating. For more information about Phragmites, contact Landscape Architect Rick Meader at [email protected] or call 248.735.5621.