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

📰 Local News: 📉 Mentor Unemployment Falls to 1.6% in August

🚧 Traffic Pattern Changes at Mentor Ice Arena Parking Lot

📰 Rita’s Brings Italian Ice to Mentor Avenue; Grand Opening Set for Saturday

🐈 Better Pet Living: The 5-Minute Pet Check Worth Doing Once a Month

⚾ Sports: ⚾ Guardians Shut Out, One Win from Playoff Berth

🏐⚽⛳ Local Sports Briefs - Mentor, Lake Catholic, & Mentor Christian

🤔 Trivia Question

🤣 Something Funny

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

Mentor’s unemployment rate dropped sharply in August, falling to 1.6%, according to the latest civilian labor force estimates from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.

That’s down from 2.7% in July and 3.1% in August 2025.

The new figure also places Mentor among the lowest unemployment rates reported for Ohio cities with populations of 50,000 or more. Lakewood posted the lowest rate at 1.4%, followed by Mentor at 1.6%, Parma at 1.7% and Cleveland Heights at 1.8%.

Lake County saw a similar decline, with its unemployment rate dropping from 2.8% in July to 1.6% in August. A year earlier, the county’s rate stood at 3.2%.

One number adds important context: Mentor’s civilian labor force was estimated at 25,900 people in August, down from 26,100 in July. Because unemployment rates are affected by both employment and the number of people participating in the labor force, the decline should not be viewed simply as a measure of new hiring.

Statewide, Ohio’s unemployment rate dipped to 3.3% in August, compared with 3.4% in July and 4.4% a year earlier.

👉🏻 Want the fuller picture behind Mentor’s 1.6% rate? We break down what the labor-force numbers add to the story on mentorlocalbuzz.com

Visitors to the Mentor Ice Arena should watch for a change in the parking lot in front of the building.

Since September 23, the east driveway has remained one-way in only, while the west driveway has become two-way to accommodate construction traffic. The lot no longer follows its former one-way-in, one-way-out pattern. Drivers accustomed to using the west driveway only as an exit should watch for vehicles traveling in both directions.

The change is connected to the new Municipal Annex Building planned behind the Mentor Civic Amphitheater. The City of Mentor says the pattern will continue throughout construction. It has not announced an end date and will post updates as they become available.face

Mentor’s new Rita’s Italian Ice & Frozen Custard will celebrate its grand opening Saturday, Sept. 26, from noon to 3 p.m. at 7652 Mentor Avenue.

Rita’s says the first 50 guests in line will receive free Italian ice for a year. The announcement does not spell out how the offer is redeemed, so anyone hoping to claim it should check the details with the shop. The free event will also include face painting, balloon art and other giveaways.

The Mentor shop is part of a family-owned franchise led by Jim Myers and operated locally by his son, Danny Myers. It is the family’s sixth Rita’s location and its first in the Cleveland area.

The menu includes Italian ice in rotating flavors, frozen custard and combinations of the two, along with milkshakes and other frozen treats. The location also has a drive-thru.

Rita’s lists regular hours as noon to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and noon to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. The grand opening celebration is free to attend.

Sources: Rita’s opening announcement via QSR Magazine, Mentor Area Chamber event listing and Rita’s Mentor location page.

A simple nose-to-paws routine can help you recognize what’s normal for your pet—and notice when something begins to change.

Seeing your pet every day can actually make slow changes harder to notice. A little less enthusiasm on the stairs, a coat that feels different, nails that seem longer than usual, or a water bowl that needs refilling more often can become the new normal before you realize anything changed.

That is why a simple once-a-month pet check can be useful.

This does not need to feel like an exam. In fact, it works best when it fits into things you already do — brushing your cat, rubbing your dog’s belly, trimming nails, filling bowls, or settling in together on the couch.

Once a month, take about five calm minutes to do four things:

Look. Notice the coat, skin, eyes, ears, mouth, paws and nails.

Feel. As you pet your animal normally, notice any new bumps, sore spots, irritated areas or places they suddenly do not want touched.

Observe. Think about appetite, thirst, bathroom habits, movement, sleep and behavior. Has anything become noticeably different?

Compare. Ask one simple question: Is this normal for my pet?

Then make a quick note. One photo, a weight if you can measure it safely, and two or three observations are enough. You are looking for patterns over time, not building a medical chart.

Home checks do not replace routine veterinary care, and they are not meant to help owners diagnose a problem. If a change is sudden, significant, worsening, persistent or simply concerns you, contact your veterinarian rather than waiting for the next monthly check.

Most months, you may write down that nothing has changed. That is useful, too.

The better you know your pet’s ordinary coat, appetite, movement and behavior, the easier it becomes to recognize when ordinary starts to shift.

👉🏻 Want to make the five-minute check easy to remember? Our full Better Pet Living guide walks you from nose to paws, shows you what everyday changes are easiest to miss, and gives you a simple way to track them without turning pet care into a medical project.

Cleveland’s six-game winning streak ended Wednesday night with a 1-0 loss to the Red Sox. The Guardians collected five singles, and no runner advanced past second base. Boston starter Sonny Gray held Cleveland scoreless for six innings before Aroldis Chapman struck out the side in the ninth.

Foster Griffin kept the Guardians within reach. He struck out seven without a walk over six innings, allowing one run despite giving up 10 hits. That run came in the sixth, when Jarren Duran narrowly beat Steven Kwan’s throw home on Andruw Monasterio’s single.

The playoff picture: Cleveland (82-76) still leads the White Sox (81-77) by one game in the AL Central after Chicago also lost Wednesday. The Guardians need to finish ahead of Chicago: the White Sox own the head-to-head tiebreaker and would win the division if the teams finish with identical records.

Cleveland can secure a postseason berth with a win in Thursday’s series finale at Boston. The Guardians then close the regular season with three games in Kansas City, with the division title still to be decided.

See highlights at espn.com

Mentor Christian picked up a varsity golf victory over First Baptist Christian, 209–239, in a result reported this week by The News-Herald.

O’Neill led Mentor Christian with a 44, while Carafa was right behind with a 45. Colano shot 57 and Brown added a 63 to round out the Cardinals’ four scoring rounds. Sowry finished with a 64 and Welch with a 66.

The win gives Mentor Christian some well-earned attention in a sport where local results can sometimes fly under the radar.

Mentor High’s girls volleyball team is building some early-season momentum.

Mentor Athletics reported Wednesday that the Cardinals are 6–2 overall and undefeated in Greater Cleveland Conference play.

The Cardinals return to the court today against Archbishop Hoban at Mentor High School, giving Mentor another chance to continue its strong start against a nonconference opponent.

Lake Catholic will also be back on the volleyball court tonight, hosting Beaumont School at 6:30 p.m.

The Cougars enter the match 11–3 overall and have won 15 consecutive matches at home, giving tonight’s matchup a little extra significance.

Lake Catholic is coming off Tuesday’s dramatic five-set victory over CVCA, but tonight provides a new challenge as the Cougars try to keep their home streak going.

🐝 Buzz Fact: Dogs have fewer types of color-detecting cone cells than humans, so they experience the visual world differently. Which may finally explain why your dog has never once complimented the new paint color, the throw pillows, or the outfit you spent 20 minutes choosing.
Answer: Google

Chaotic Reactions- Very funny!!