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

📰 Local News: 🏫 Mentor Schools CFO Bill Wade to Leave District Sept. 30

👩🏻‍⚕️ UrgentVet Opens New Mentor Clinic

📚 Mentor Public Library’s Pop-Up Program Surpasses 20,000 Free Books

🍽️ The Pantry DINNER RESCUE: Two Dinners for the Night You Didn’t Plan

🏈 Sports: 🏈 Mentor Survives McDowell, Behind Big Plays and One Final Stop

🏈 Cougars Bounce Back With 14-13 Road Win Over Avon Lake

⚾ Guardians’ Seven-Game Winning Streak Ends Against Royals

⚾ Four Errors Cost Captains in 8-3 Loss to Cedar Rapids

🤔 Trivia Question

🤣 Something Funny

Contact Mentor Local Buzz - [email protected] - 440-256-6115

Mentor Public Schools Chief Financial Officer Bill Wade will leave the district Sept. 30 after accepting another professional position, creating a change in financial leadership during an especially important period for the district.

Wade has spent 11 years with Mentor Schools in several roles. He previously served five years as Mentor High School principal, returned to the district in 2020 as director of business operations, and became chief financial officer in 2021.

The district has not publicly identified Wade’s next employer or position.

His departure comes as Mentor Schools continues working through significant financial decisions. Voters rejected a larger operating levy in May, and the district says it has since implemented $6.6 million in reductions for the current school year. Another $3.3 million in reductions are planned for 2027-28.

Mentor Schools will return to voters Nov. 3 with a smaller five-year, 3.5-mill operating levy expected to generate about $9.6 million annually.

There is no indication that the district’s financial challenges played a role in Wade’s departure. Mentor Schools says he accepted another professional opportunity.

As CFO, Wade has been one of the district’s primary public voices on school finances and reports directly to the Board of Education.

The board says it will determine its next steps for filling the position in the coming weeks.

👉🏻 For a closer look at why this leadership change matters now, Wade’s role in recent district financial decisions, and what Mentor residents should watch next, read the full story on Mentor Local Buzz.

Mentor pet owners now have another after-hours option when a dog or cat needs care but the problem is not life-threatening.

UrgentVet is open at 9434 Mentor Ave., offering same-day urgent care for illnesses and minor injuries. The clinic celebrated its opening Aug. 27 with tours, a ribbon cutting and an adoption event with Lake Humane Society.

Hours are 3–11 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m.–8 p.m. weekends and noon–8 p.m. on holidays. Walk-ins are accepted, and online check-in is available.

UrgentVet does not provide routine preventive care, overnight hospitalization or treatment for life-threatening emergencies.

👉🏻 Need to know what UrgentVet treats—and when your pet should go straight to an emergency hospital? We break it down here.

Mentor Public Library’s traveling pop-up library has now given away more than 20,000 books during its 11 years of operation.

The program brings free books directly to community events, giving both children and adults a chance to browse without visiting a library branch. The books come from donations or titles removed from the library’s collection to make room for newer materials.

Library Marketing Director Jason Lea told News 5 Cleveland the idea is simple: meet residents where they already are and encourage curiosity and reading. The library-built display includes selections for adults, chapter-book readers and younger children.

The pop-up library’s next scheduled stop is the Mentor-on-the-Lake Fall Festival on Sept. 12.

Source: news5cleveland.com

A nearly empty refrigerator doesn’t have to mean takeout. These two dependable dinners start with pantry and freezer staples worth keeping around.

There are nights when dinner planning does not fail so much as never happen. The refrigerator looks bare, everyone is hungry, and takeout starts sounding easier than figuring out what can be made from what is left.

That is exactly when a small pantry-and-freezer backup plan earns its keep.

This week’s Dinner Rescue starts with two meals built around ingredients that are easy to keep on hand. Creamy Tomato Tortellini Soup turns canned tomatoes, broth and frozen or refrigerated tortellini into a warm, filling bowl with very little prep. Crispy Black Bean and Cheese Tacos use canned beans, tortillas and shredded cheese for a fast dinner with crunchy edges and a familiar flavor everyone can adjust.

Neither meal depends on fresh produce. If you have spinach, herbs, avocado, sour cream or leftover vegetables, use them. If you do not, dinner still works.

The smartest items to keep stocked are the ones that can solve more than one problem: canned beans, canned tomatoes, broth, pasta or tortellini, tortillas, shredded cheese, frozen vegetables and a few dependable seasonings. Together, they can become soup, tacos, quesadillas, pasta or a quick skillet meal.

Choosing between tonight’s two recipes mostly comes down to mood. The tortellini soup is soft, creamy and comforting, with most of the work happening in one pot. The tacos are crisp, cheesy and a little more hands-on, but they cook quickly and are easy to customize.

Leftovers are useful, too. Extra soup makes an easy lunch, while leftover taco filling can become nachos, quesadillas or a rice bowl.

A nearly empty refrigerator does not have to mean there is nothing for dinner. A few reliable staples can give you one more option before the takeout app wins.

Mentor found another way to win Friday night, overcoming three turnovers and several costly mistakes to hold off Erie McDowell, 31-30, at Jerome T. Osborne Stadium.

The Cardinals improved to 2-0 after stopping McDowell’s potential game-winning two-point conversion with 1:13 remaining.

Mentor needed big plays throughout the night. Quarterback Brogan Jones scored on a 5-yard run and connected with Jeremiah Claridy and Logan Berwald for 80-yard touchdowns in the second half. Sophomore Danny Kristo added a 47-yard field goal.

The biggest swing, however, came from the defense.

With the game tied at 24 in the fourth quarter, junior linebacker Cooper Russo recovered a McDowell fumble near midfield and returned it roughly 55 yards for the go-ahead touchdown.

McDowell responded with a late scoring drive. Quarterback Evan Kuhn’s short touchdown run cut Mentor’s lead to 31-30, and the Trojans chose to go for two instead of kicking the tying extra point.

Mentor’s defense had the play covered, forcing an incomplete pass and preserving the victory.

The Cardinals are unbeaten, but there is also a clear early-season concern. Mentor has committed seven turnovers through its first two games—four against Olmsted Falls and three Friday—while also allowing several drives to continue because of penalties.

So far, Mentor’s explosive offense and timely defense have been enough to overcome those mistakes.

Next comes another test: St. Ignatius at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 4, at Don Shula Stadium at John Carroll University.

👉🏻 How has Mentor managed to start 2-0 despite seven turnovers? Our full game breakdown looks at the explosive plays, defensive turning point and biggest issue facing the Cardinals heading into St. Ignatius.

Reporting source: The News-Herald

Lake Catholic responded to a difficult season opener with the kind of win that can steady a team early in the year.

The Cougars held off Avon Lake, 14-13, Friday night to improve to 1-1, with their defense protecting a one-point lead through the fourth quarter.

According to The News-Herald, Lake Catholic struck first when quarterback Max Pisano scored on a 12-yard run. After Avon Lake tied the game, the Cougars answered with another scoring drive highlighted by a 34-yard completion from Pisano to Guy Dominick. Danny Zmorowski finished the possession with a touchdown that put Lake Catholic ahead, 14-7.

Avon Lake trimmed the lead with a field goal before halftime and added another in the third quarter, but the Cougars did not allow the Shoremen to take the lead.

The biggest defensive moment came in the fourth quarter, when Tyan Tsai stopped Avon Lake on fourth-and-1 at the Lake Catholic 33-yard line. Michael Barnes later helped shut down the Shoremen’s final possession with the game on the line, according to The News-Herald.

The win was a sharp turnaround from Lake Catholic’s 41-7 Week 1 loss to Cardinal Mooney.

Next up, the Cougars remain on the road for a Sept. 5 matchup against Akron Buchtel.

👉🏻 Lake Catholic’s defense was tested repeatedly in the second half — and the way the Cougars responded says more about this win than the final score alone. Read the full recap for the key moments, the Week 1 turnaround and what this performance could mean moving forward.

Reporting source: The News-Herald.

Cleveland’s seven-game winning streak came to an end Friday as the Guardians were shut out 3-0 by Kansas City.

Royals starter Michael Wacha controlled the Cleveland lineup for eight innings, allowing four singles while striking out 10 without a walk. Only one Guardians runner advanced past second base against him.

Tanner Bibee deserved a better result. He allowed just one run over six innings but fell to 5-14 as Cleveland’s offense again struggled to support him. Bibee entered the night receiving just 3.17 runs per game, the third-lowest average in MLB.

Kansas City added two insurance runs on Carter Jensen’s ninth-inning homer.

Cleveland loaded the bases in the ninth, but the rally ended on an Angel Genao comebacker. Cleveland falls 3.5 games behind the Chicago White Sox in their division race. Foster Griffin starts today for the Guardians.

👉🏻 The Captains jumped out to a 3-0 lead Friday night, but four fielding errors helped turn the game into an 8-3 loss to Cedar Rapids. See how the game unfolded — and why the loss matters with a huge Great Lakes series coming up — on the Local Buzz website.

🐝 Buzz Fact: Pesto comes from the Italian word pestare, meaning “to crush” — which is also a pretty accurate description of what dinner does to your motivation when the recipe says, “Now clean the food processor.”
Answer: Google

out of the mouths of babes…. LOL!