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📢 Local Events from Mentor & the Area: MentorLocalBuzz.com/Events!

📰 Local News: 🚧 Mentor Avenue Resurfacing Starts Aug. 24: What Drivers Should Know

🗑️ Mentor Extends Waste Contract Through 2031, Negotiates Lower 2027 Rate

📰 Mentor Police Connect with VITALIA Residents During Coffee with a Cop

🐕 Better Pet Living: When the House Gets Quiet Again, Your Dog May Need Time to Adjust

⚾ Sports: ⚾ Guardians Shut Out for Third Time in a Week, Waste Another Strong Messick Start

⚾ Captains Let Early Lead Slip Away in 5-3 Loss to Wisconsin

🤔 Trivia Question

🤣 Something Funny

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A major resurfacing project on Mentor Avenue begins Monday, Aug. 24, bringing several weeks of mostly nighttime construction to the east side of Mentor.

The work will cover Mentor Avenue from about 500 feet west of Hopkins Road east to the Painesville Township line. The project includes full-depth pavement and curb repairs, manhole adjustments, inlet basin repairs, milling and resurfacing, new pavement markings and new radar traffic-detection equipment.

For drivers, the biggest thing to know is the schedule. Most construction will take place between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m., helping keep much of the work outside daytime travel hours.

Mentor Avenue will remain open during construction. The city plans to maintain one lane in each direction, although motorists should expect changing traffic patterns as crews move through the project area.

Message boards will be placed along Mentor Avenue with traffic updates, and the city said additional construction information will be posted on its website. Drivers are being asked to use caution and allow a little extra travel time through that portion of Route 20.

The project is expected to be completed by the end of October.

👉🏻 Planning to travel this stretch regularly? Click through for a closer look at where the work begins and ends, what crews will be repairing and what drivers should watch for through October.

Mentor residents will get a small break on part of the cost of trash service next year after the city negotiated better terms in a five-year extension with Waste Management.

City Council approved the extension Tuesday, keeping Waste Management as Mentor’s residential garbage, recycling and yard-waste provider through 2031.

The garbage, recycling and bulk-pickup portion of the service currently costs $15.55 per month. After additional negotiations, that figure will drop to $15.25 in 2027 — about a 2% reduction — instead of increasing next year.

The rate will then rise 3.5% annually during the final four years of the agreement.

City Manager Kenneth Filipiak told council the revised deal represents more than $1 million in savings compared with the earlier proposal.

One important distinction: $15.25 is not the monthly trash bill a Mentor household will pay. The city covers the full cost of yard-waste collection and also pays half of the solid-waste portion, so residents see only part of the underlying service cost on their quarterly bills.

Waste Management has served Mentor since 2011. The city’s current agreement began in 2021 and runs through the end of 2026 before the new five-year extension begins.

👉🏻 Want to see where the underlying rate goes from 2027 through 2031 — and what the city’s subsidies mean for your actual bill? We break down the numbers on the Local Buzz website.

The Mentor Police Department recently spent time with residents of VITALIA Senior Living during a Coffee with a Cop gathering aimed at strengthening community connections.

Residents joined officers for coffee and casual conversation, providing an opportunity to ask questions, share personal stories and learn more about their local police department. The relaxed atmosphere allowed residents and officers to connect outside of routine law enforcement interactions.

Community events such as Coffee with a Cop are designed to encourage open communication and build stronger relationships between law enforcement officers and the people they serve.

The Mentor Police Department thanked VITALIA residents and staff for their hospitality and welcoming atmosphere and said officers look forward to returning for another visit.

See the images on the Facebook page

Vacations end, school starts and work routines return. A few gradual changes can help dogs adapt when the people they have grown used to seeing suddenly become less available.

Late summer can change a dog’s day almost overnight. Vacations end, children return to school, work schedules tighten, and a house that has been busy for weeks may suddenly become quiet for long stretches.

Dogs notice those patterns. A pet that had company throughout the day may need time to adjust when walks shift, playtime becomes less frequent, or everyone starts leaving at once.

Watch what happens around departures and while your dog is alone. Persistent barking or howling, pacing, house-soiling, heavy drooling, destruction around doors or windows, or frantic escape attempts can signal significant distress rather than simple boredom. A home camera can help you see whether your dog settles after you leave or remains upset.

If a schedule change is coming, start practicing before the first full day apart. Try brief, ordinary absences and increase them gradually only while your dog remains comfortable. Keep departures and arrivals calm instead of making them major events.

At the same time, protect the parts of the day your dog can count on. Feeding, walks, bathroom breaks and regular interaction do not have to happen at the exact minute, but a dependable rhythm can make a changing household feel more predictable.

Appropriate enrichment can help a comfortable dog settle. A food puzzle, safe chew or familiar activity may make quiet time easier, but it should not be used to push a panicked dog through an absence it cannot tolerate.

Most dogs can adapt to a new household rhythm with patience and consistency. If your dog cannot settle even during very short absences, injures itself trying to escape, stops eating because of distress, or shows severe or worsening behavior, contact your veterinarian.

The goal is not a perfectly fixed schedule. It is a dog that learns, gradually and reliably, that the household may get busy—and that being alone for manageable periods is still safe.

👉🏻 Before the household schedule changes, a little preparation can make a big difference—see our simple transition plan, the signs that tell you whether your dog is adjusting comfortably, and when it may be time to ask for help.

Cleveland’s offense went quiet again Wednesday night, wasting another strong outing from Parker Messick in a 1-0 loss to the San Francisco Giants at Progressive Field.

It was the third time in seven days the Guardians have been shut out, continuing an alarming offensive stretch for a team trying to stay in the postseason race.

Messick did nearly everything Cleveland could have asked. The rookie left-hander struck out 10 over 6 2/3 innings and allowed only one run, but even that proved too much.

It was also the second straight Messick start in which Cleveland failed to score. Across those two games, he has allowed just three runs in 12 1/3 innings while striking out 16.

The Guardians had opportunities Wednesday but couldn’t cash in. Their best chance came in the eighth when Steven Kwan walked to lead off the inning, but José Ramírez, Nathaniel Lowe and Angel Martinez all struck out.

San Francisco scored the game’s only run in the fourth after Rafael Devers doubled and later came home on Victor Bericoto’s single.

The loss was Cleveland’s 12th shutout of the season and its 11th defeat in the last 16 games.

For the Guardians, the frustration is becoming familiar: the pitching continues to give them chances to win, but lately the offense has too often failed to provide enough support.

Cleveland will try to bounce back Thursday afternoon with Gavin Williams scheduled to start the series finale.

The Lake County Captains carried a 2-0 lead into the bottom of the sixth Wednesday, but the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers rallied for a 5-3 victory as Lake County lost ground during the closing stretch of the second-half race.

The game was scoreless through five innings before the Captains broke through in the sixth. Garrett Howe drew a bases-loaded walk that scored Riley Nelson, and Tommy Hawke followed with an RBI single to make it 2-0.

Wisconsin answered immediately. Blayberg Diaz and Brady Ebel delivered RBI singles in the bottom of the sixth to tie the game.

The Timber Rattlers moved ahead in the seventh on solo home runs from Sawyer Strosnider and Eric Bitonti. Bitonti’s homer was his 20th of the season.

Lake County pulled within 4-3 in the eighth when Tyler Howard scored during a fielder’s-choice double play, but Strosnider answered with an RBI double in the bottom half for the final margin.

Captains reliever Logan McGuire allowed four runs on seven hits, including both home runs, over 1⅔ innings.

Lake County fell to 23-25 and sat 5½ games out of first place with just 16 scheduled regular-season games remaining.

The Captains and Timber Rattlers continue the series Thursday in Wisconsin.

👉🏻 With just 16 games remaining, see how the loss affects Lake County’s playoff chase and what the Captains face down the stretch.

🐝 Buzz Fact: Pets are remarkably talented at recognizing routines—especially the ones involving food. You can change your hairstyle, rearrange the furniture, and forget what day it is, but open one snack cabinet at 8:02 p.m. and suddenly you’re being audited.
Answer: Google

Chewbarka!!?? now that’s funny