Black Bears, New Careers & Abraham Lincoln: Listening to Local Voices

1. We've talked about , and on Mentor Patch. (.)

But Shawn VanHuss has touched on a species we've previously ignored, .

In 2009, there were 119 black bear sightings; in 2010, there were more than 150 black bear sightings reported in 23 different counties. A majority of these sightings are from Ashtabula, Geauga, Trumbull, Portages and Lake counties. 

In 2011, there were 152 sightings with 60 being confirmed by state wildlife personnel.

?

2. President's Day is a pretty big deal in Mentor. It is, after all, .

However, Bill Joherl chose to focus on Abraham Lincoln this Monday.

You see, Joherl and Lincoln have something in common -- they are both attorneys. Furthermore, Joherl thinks modern lawyers could learn something from Lincoln's approach to litigation.

"Discourage litigation. Persuade your neighbors to compromise whenever you can. As a peacemaker the lawyer has superior opportunity of being a good man. There will still be business enough," Lincoln wrote.

.

3. Kelly Blazek -- our resident job search den mother -- has some new leads for job openings, including four in Mentor.

.

4. Finally, Dr. Barbara Berkeley -- the medical director of obesity programs for LakeHealth -- talks about how difficult it is to change habits.

But when it comes to maintaining a healthy weight.