Senior Olympic gold medalist Jimmy O'Hearn will facilitate his "Balance Your Life' senior fitness program at Loutit District Library. Classes will begin Sept. 12 and continue every Monday through March 2012 from 10-11 a.m. in Program Room A of the library, 407 Columbus Ave. O'Hearn said men and women with back ache, shoulder, hip and knee problems regularly attend his classes to attain functional balance, mental alertness and increased energy.

Many would consider Scott Staal's junior season a wasted year. Staal missed the season with a broken elbow - sustained while throwing the football during two-a-days - an injury that kept him off the field the entire year. Staal, on the other hand, looks at his painful junior year as a blessing in disguise.

Former Detroit Red Wings assistant coach Brad McCrimmon, player Ruslan Salei and prospect Stefan Liv were among 43 people killed when a Russian jet carrying the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl team in Russia's Kontinental Hockey League crashed today near the western city of Yaroslavl.

In a battle of two state-ranked Division 4 teams, host Western Michigan Christian scored early and late Wednesday night for a 2-0 win over North Muskegon. The Warriors, rated No. 6 in the state, raised their season mark to 3-1-1. WMC outshot the 10th-ranked North Muskegon, 30-4, but had trouble connecting with the twine. The Warriors got on the board six minutes into the game when sophomore Alex Rop fired a throw-in to senior Zach Meyers, who sent it past the keeper.

Spring Lake's varsity swimming and diving squad was impressive in a double dual meet with Fremont and host West Catholic on Wednesday, with the Lakers taking either first- or second-place in all but four events in their two victories. The Lakers defeated the Packers by a 147-36 score, and topped the Falcons in a 127-59 finish.

The Grand Haven Department of Public Safety has recently taken multiple complaints involving graffiti in the downtown area. Numerous buildings, both occupied and abandoned, have been vandalized with spray paint depicting both words and pictures. The incidents have occurred within the past two weeks. GHDPS is requesting anyone with information concerning these incidents to call 911 or Silent Observer at 1-877-88-SILENT (745368). A reward is available through Silent Observer for the arrest and conviction of the suspect(s) responsible for the damage.

The 25th anniversary production of the world's longest-running musical, "Les Misérables,' will be staged at DeVos Performance Hall in downtown Grand Rapids, Nov. 29 to Dec. 4. Tickets for the eight-show run go on sale beginning at 9 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 11. Ticket prices start at $34.50. Tickets will be available at the DeVos Performance Hall box office, all Ticketmaster locations, www.ticketmaster.com or by phone at 1-800-745-3000.

Volunteers for a beach clean-up event on Saturday, Sept. 17, are being sought by the Alliance for the Great Lakes. The organization's annual September Adopt-a-Beach cleanup event will be held from 9 a.m. to noon that day at Grand Haven State Park and North Beach Park in Ferrysburg. Since 1991, nearly 70,000 volunteers have effectively removed more than 164 tons of debris from Great Lakes shorelines during this annual event. Beach sweeps are scheduled to happen Sept. 17 in four states: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin.