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

📰 Local News: 📰 Ohio Changes Reading Measure for School Report Cards

📖 Mentor Police Bring Monthly Safety Story Time to Local Families

🛝 New Playground Opens at Overlook Beach Park

🌿 LIVE BETTER: The Two-Speed Day: A Better Way to Plan Around Your Energy

⚾ Sports: ⚾ Rocchio’s Walk-Off Double Pulls Guardians Within Half-Game of AL Central Lead

🏈 Mentor Football Earns Spots in Two Statewide Polls

🤔 Trivia Question

🤣 Something Funny

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

Ohio released its new school report cards Tuesday, and there’s an important change Mentor families should understand before comparing this year’s results with last year’s.

Mentor Schools earned 4.5 out of 5 stars overall on its 2025 state report card. Ahead of this year’s public release, Mentor Board of Education President Maggie Cook told Ideastream Public Media that the district is “again receiving 4.5 out of 5 stars overall.”

But one part of this year’s report card changed enough that some year-to-year comparisons require extra context.

According to News 5 Cleveland, Ohio revised the third-grade promotion measure used in its Early Literacy rating. Previously, districts could count students who advanced to fourth grade even if they had not met the reading threshold. The new measure counts students eligible for promotion based on their reading performance.

That matters because Early Literacy contributes to a district’s overall rating. Under Ohio’s current rules, it accounts for 12.5% of the overall score when all six report-card components apply.

So while Mentor’s reported overall rating remains strong, changes within Early Literacy should not automatically be read as equivalent changes in student performance.

👉🏻 On the website, we break down exactly what Ohio changed, how much Early Literacy counts toward Mentor’s overall rating, and what families should look for when comparing this year’s results with 2025.

Families can combine story time, simple safety lessons and a chance to meet local police officers during a recurring program at Mentor Public Library.

At 11 a.m. on the third Wednesday of each month, Officer Dan Radigan or another member of the Mentor Police Department will stop by the library for a safety-themed Story Time.

Each visit will include a safety-related story and activities designed to help children learn important lessons while getting to know the officers who serve their community in a relaxed, kid-friendly setting.

The program is open to all ages, and no registration is required, making it an easy option for parents, grandparents and caregivers looking for a weekday activity with younger children.

There’s also a reason to keep coming back. Each time a child attends, they’ll receive a raffle ticket for a chance to win a pizza lunch with Officer Dan and Fireman Dan in December 2026.

📍 Where: Mentor Public Library
📅 When: Third Wednesday of each month
⏰ Time: 11 a.m.
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Ages: Open to all ages
✅ Registration: Not required
🎟️ Bonus: Each visit includes a raffle ticket toward the December pizza lunch drawing

For families looking for an easy local outing, the monthly Story Time offers a little reading, a little learning and a friendly introduction to the people behind the badge. See the Facebook event here.

Families have a new reason to visit Overlook Beach Park in Mentor-on-the-Lake.

The city officially opened a new playground at the Lake Erie park on Saturday, Sept. 12, replacing equipment that had been removed because of shoreline erosion concerns.

The new play area includes modern playground equipment and a safety surface designed for children and families. City officials, Parks and Recreation Board members, residents and community supporters gathered for a ribbon-cutting ceremony marking completion of the project.

The playground is part of a broader effort to improve Overlook Beach Park while the city continues dealing with erosion along the shoreline. The park, located at the end of Reynolds Road, also offers picnic facilities, a gazebo, basketball court and a deck overlooking Lake Erie.

State funding has helped support restoration work at the park. A previous $300,000 capital appropriation was awarded for repairs and restoration, and another $100,000 has since been allocated for additional improvements.

For residents, the immediate result is simple: the playground is back, and work to improve the lakefront park is continuing.

👉🏻 The playground opening is only part of the larger story at Overlook Beach Park — click through for more on the shoreline challenges, recent improvements and what could come next.

Your energy and attention can change throughout the day. A better plan may be to match the work in front of you to the capacity you actually have.

There is a quiet assumption built into many schedules: if you have eight usable hours, you should be able to bring the same focus to all eight.

Real life rarely works that way.

Most of us recognize periods when thinking feels easier and others when even a simple task seems to require more effort. Instead of treating every dip as a problem to overcome, it can be more useful to plan for a two-speed day.

Start by noticing your own pattern. For several days, pay attention to when you feel best able to concentrate, solve problems or make decisions. Then notice the periods when your energy is better suited to routine work.

Use your higher-focus windows deliberately. That may be the time for writing, planning, complicated conversations, detailed financial work or anything else that benefits from your full attention. Try not to spend that valuable stretch deciding what to do next, sorting minor emails or handling tasks that could happen just as well later.

When your energy naturally drops, change the kind of work rather than immediately demanding more from yourself. Filing, routine messages, errands, meal prep, straightforward household chores or other familiar tasks may fit better there.

Of course, your day does not belong entirely to you. Work hours, school schedules, caregiving, appointments and family needs can determine when certain things happen. The goal is not to create a perfect timetable. It is to make better use of the flexibility you actually have.

And some days will ignore the pattern completely. Poor sleep, an unexpected problem or a packed schedule can change what you have available.

Think of the two-speed day as a guide, not a rule. When you match demanding work to stronger periods and save lighter tasks for natural dips, you may get more from the day without expecting peak performance from yourself every hour.

👉🏻 Your stronger and slower periods are only half the equation. See how to build a two-speed day, protect your best-focus windows and create a plan that can still bend when real life takes over.

Brayan Rocchio delivered another big September moment Tuesday night, driving a two-run double into the left-field corner with two outs in the ninth to give the Cleveland Guardians a dramatic 7-6 win over the Chicago White Sox.

The comeback pulled Cleveland within a half-game of first-place Chicago in the AL Central, adding even more importance to Wednesday’s series finale.

With runners on second and third and the Guardians trailing by one, Rocchio lifted a fly ball toward the left-field line that dropped just beyond a diving attempt by Sam Antonacci. Both runners scored, and Cleveland’s dugout emptied onto the field.

Late-season drama has become familiar territory for Rocchio. He now has seven career walk-off plate appearances, with four of his walk-off hits coming in September.

Rookie Travis Bazzana also delivered a big night, hitting two home runs. Jo Adell added a 442-foot homer in the first inning as Cleveland built an early lead before Chicago answered with four runs in the sixth.

The Guardians still found a way to finish the job — and in a division race this tight, that mattered as much as the comeback itself.

Cleveland will send rookie left-hander Parker Messick, 11-9 with a 2.51 ERA, to the mound Wednesday as the Guardians try to finish the series by gaining more ground in the AL Central.

See the highlights at espn.com

Mentor football is getting statewide attention heading into Week 5.

The Cardinals are tied for No. 10 in Division I in the first Associated Press state poll of the 2026 season and tied for No. 25 in the USA TODAY Network Ohio Super 25, which ranks teams across all divisions.

Mentor enters the rankings with a 3-1 record after a dominant 63-18 home win over Brunswick on Friday. The victory was the Cardinals’ third of the season and improved them to 1-0 in Greater Cleveland Conference play.

The two polls offer different views of Mentor’s standing. The AP rankings are separated by OHSAA division, while the Super 25 puts Ohio’s top teams on one list regardless of school size. Mentor received 12 points in the Division I AP voting, tying Cincinnati Moeller for the No. 10 spot. In the Super 25, the Cardinals received 115 points and shared No. 25 with Hamilton Badin.

The next test comes Friday night when Mentor travels to Riverside. The Beavers are 2-2 and also 1-0 in conference play after beating Shaker Heights 33-3 last week.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday at Riverside.

🐝 Buzz Fact: Some foods can help your body manage cholesterol — which is good news, because apparently adulthood means getting emotionally invested in oatmeal.
Answer: Google

Big things come in small packages… Yep! LOL