Mentor City staff said goodbye Friday to longtime employee Sue St. Hilaire, who retired as police department administrative secretary after 12 years. Prior to that, she was an accounting assistant in the finance department, for more than 25 years total service.

Other recent goings-on in the city include:

Economic and Community Development
• Ron Traub met with Great Lakes Mall personnel to review the status of the current renovation and future direction. The current project is 98 percent complete and new signs at Mentor Avenue and Johnnycake Ridge Road are in the process of being installed.
• Tom Thielman met with Vida Novak, vice president of Air Technical Industries regarding its application for a Mentor Small Business Loan. Air Technical Industries is desirous of using the loan program to help finance the purchase of new CNC machinery. Air Technical Industries manufactures scissor lifts and material handling equipment.
• The Mentor Economic Assistance Corporation received approval from the U.S. Small Business Administration for a SBA 504 loan package for Cleveland Ge-riatrics. This is a $355,000 project which includes the purchase of an existing building and minor remodeling.

Fire Department
• Mentor will receive $119,600 from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Assistance to Firefighters Grant program to purchase 50 portable radios for use by fire personnel. The upgraded radios are required to communicate with Lake County’s new 800 MHz radio system.
• There were three full cardiac arrests over the holiday weekend. Another cardiac arrest patient, whom paramedics had treated the week prior, was well enough to visit the Fire Station to express his appreciation, with cookies, on Christmas Eve.
• On Dec. 22 at 8:53 p.m., fire crews responded to 8130 Deepwood Building “D” Apartments for a fire in the second-floor laundry room. Crews arrived to find the building evacuated and a fire in building. The fire was quickly brought under control and ventilated with fire crews checking for extension before allowing the apartments to be reoccupied. There were no reported injuries and all residents were able to return to their respective apartments. The fire was contained to the side wall of the laundry unit and the cause appeared to be a faulty dryer vent.
• On Dec. 23 at 8:00 p.m., the department responded to 7265 Commerce for a reported roof fire at SKF Machine Tool Services. Crews arrived to find smoke coming from the roof of the multi-bay, multi-office industrial unit and fire inside the building. MABAS Box 1142 was called for city coverage and additional manpower at the scene. The fire started in a women’s restroom, apparently from a ceiling fan. Crews were able to limit the extent of the damage to the loft area above the restroom and a small section of the roof. The building was not occupied at the time of the fire. Damage is estimated at $130,000 and there were no reported injuries. Business disruption is expected to be minimal. Mutual-aid crews responded to other city calls for service during the incidents as the city was busy with other calls.

 Parks and Recreation Department
• The Mentor Civic Arena is the place to be during the holiday season. Every day during the school break, the arena had three open skates and we are averaging more than $3,500 per day in open skate revenue.
• The Civic Arena hosted the Lake Catholic Hockey Cougar Holiday Tournament for the fourth year, renting ice time for three days and hosting 15 teams. Lake won the tournament by beating Cincinnati Moeller in the final match.
• The Senior Center has had mirrors and a ballet bar installed in activity room 3 and changes continue to the kitchen area with a new refrigerator and shelving.

Police Department
• A 43-year-old male was arrested for inducing panic after he placed a suit case near the front door of Barnes and Noble, 7900 Mentor Ave. The suspect placed the suitcase during the early morning hours of Dec. 24. At 7:45 a.m., a customer spotted the suitcase and noted there was nobody around. The Lake County Bomb Squad responded to the scene. An x-ray of the suitcase showed a radio with a battery, wires and two containers (liquid). The owner of the suitcase was located loitering in the area. He originally denied the bag was his, but then claimed ownership. He refused to open the suitcase when requested. The bomb squad disrupted the suitcase using a robot. Nothing illegal or explosive was found in the suitcase.
• The police department responded to a call of a stolen purse at Cleats, 7693 Reynolds Rd. After reviewing surveillance footage of the theft, the officers were able to identify the suspect. Willoughby Hills PD located the suspect outside his apartment building in Willoughby Hills. Mentor Police responded to the apartment, spoke to the suspect and found the victims wallet in his pocket. The remaining contents of the purse were located in a garbage can at a Speedway Gas Station in Willoughby. The suspect was charged with theft.

Public Works Department
• Activity highlights last week: storm sewer cleaning — Bellflower; drainage improvement — Chase Drive; jetted trench drains — FS #4 and #5; R-O-W drainage improvement — Washington; installing 6” storm sewer pipe — Meadowbrook; roadside ditch cleaning/re-profiling — Clover; renovations — city manager’s office; opened Christmas tree drop-off at parks; interior repairs — WWCC; grinding bump on SR 306; durapatching and cold patching — various; and snow removal — Tuesday evening.
• Eclipse Co. preparing to rebuild 17 catch basins on Tyler Boulevard

-- Betsy Scott, BScott@News-Herald.com, @ReporterBetsy