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

📰 Local News: 🧑🏻‍🎨 Wildwood Art Post Project Seeks Local Artists for Spring Showcase

📰 Mentor High School Taps Ryan McKnight as Next Athletic Director

📉 Minor 2.2 Earthquake Recorded Near Madison Saturday Morning

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 The Home Front: 🌱 Get Ahead of Spring: Late February Garden Tips for Northeast Ohio

⚾ Sports: ⚾ Rhys Hoskins’ Arrival Shakes Up Guardians’ Spring Training Battle

🤔 Trivia Question

🤣 Something Funny

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

Art and nature will once again come together at Wildwood Park as the Wildwood Cultural Center launches its annual Art Post Project.

The popular community initiative invites eight Lake County artists, ages 16 and older, to transform simple white vinyl posts into colorful works inspired by this year’s theme, Native Plants and Animals.

Each artist will receive a 4-inch-by-4-inch-by-39-inch post to design, turning the modest structures into vibrant outdoor displays placed throughout the park’s scenic grounds. The finished pieces will be exhibited from May through August, offering visitors an artistic surprise as they explore the property known for its historic mansion and lakefront views.

Selected artists will receive a $100 honorarium, and their biographies will be displayed alongside their work so visitors can learn more about the creators. Participants will also have the opportunity to showcase additional artwork at the Artists of the Art Post Project exhibition at Mentor City Hall later this year.

Organizers encourage artists to draw inspiration from the park’s natural surroundings, including native wildflowers, trees, birds and other local wildlife.

Applications are due Wednesday. Artists can apply online or request a form by emailing [email protected]. For additional information, contact the Wildwood Cultural Center at 440-974-5735.

Mentor High School has named Ryan McKnight as its next athletic director. He will begin Aug. 1, succeeding longtime athletic director Jeff Cassella, who will retire after the 2025-26 school year.

A Mentor graduate, McKnight earned his bachelor’s degree at Bowling Green State University, where he played football, and later completed a master’s in Educational Administration from Cleveland State University.

He began his career as a physical education and health teacher at Euclid and South before returning to Mentor, where he has served as a unit principal for the past 10 years.

McKnight now steps into a leadership role within the same athletic department he once represented as a student-athlete and later supported as an assistant football coach under Steve Trivisonno.

He will work with the current athletic administration team, including secretary Jill Connors and assistant athletic directors Greg Lohrey and Kevin Medges, and will collaborate with Cassella in the coming months to ensure a smooth transition.

McKnight plans to build on Mentor’s athletic tradition while emphasizing academics, sportsmanship and personal growth so student-athletes leave the program prepared for the future.

He and his wife, Kylie, a second-grade teacher at Hopkins Elementary, have two sons, Brady and Gavin.

A minor earthquake rattled part of Lake County late Saturday morning, with a magnitude 2.2 tremor recorded about two kilometers south-southeast of Madison, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The quake struck at 11:16 a.m. and was considered weak, though residents near the epicenter may have noticed a brief, light shaking. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.

The tremor follows a similar event earlier this year. On Jan. 6, a magnitude 2.6 earthquake was recorded in the Madison area. That quake also caused no reported damage and was unlikely to have been widely felt beyond nearby neighborhoods.

While earthquakes are less frequent in Ohio than in western states, the region does experience occasional seismic activity due to ancient fault lines deep underground. The Northeast Ohio seismic zone — which includes parts of Lake County and areas near Lake Erie — has recorded dozens of minor quakes in recent years. Most are too small to cause harm or to be felt far from where they originate.

Residents who noticed Saturday’s shaking can report their experience through the U.S. Geological Survey’s “Did You Feel It?” program, which helps scientists track the reach and intensity of earthquakes.

Late February in Mentor doesn’t exactly scream “gardening season.” The ground may still be frozen, Lake Erie winds are sharp, and snow showers can pop up without warning. But experienced Northern Ohio gardeners know this is one of the most important preparation windows of the year. What you do now directly impacts how strong your garden performs in May and June.

Here are three high-impact tasks to focus on right now:

If the soil has thawed enough to dig, collect samples and send them to OSU Extension for analysis. Lake County soils range from sandy near the lake to heavier clay inland, and guessing at fertilizer needs often leads to disappointing results. Once you get recommendations, begin incorporating compost or organic matter as conditions allow. Just be careful not to work soil that’s overly wet — compacted soil is difficult to fix later.

Late winter is ideal for pruning most dormant trees and shrubs. Remove dead, diseased, or crossing branches to improve structure and airflow. Fruit trees especially benefit from February pruning. However, avoid trimming spring-flowering shrubs like lilac or forsythia right now — their buds are already set, and pruning will sacrifice this year’s blooms.

In our Zone 6 climate, late February is perfect for starting slower-growing crops indoors, such as onions, leeks, celery, parsley, and certain herbs. Tomatoes and peppers should wait until mid-to-late March. Use a sterile seed-starting mix, provide strong grow lights (not just a sunny window), and water carefully to prevent damping off disease.

Bonus tip: Clean, sharpen, and organize your tools now. When that first 50-degree stretch hits in March, you’ll be ready to plant — not scramble.

Great gardens in Mentor aren’t accidental. They’re prepared.

While fans celebrated Olympic gold Sunday morning, another alert grabbed attention: Rhys Hoskins had arrived at the Guardians’ spring training complex in Goodyear, Arizona.

No formal announcement marked the moment, but the veteran right-handed slugger — with 38 home runs over the past two seasons — could significantly alter Cleveland’s roster outlook.

Financially, the move is eye-catching. Hoskins previously signed a two-year, $32 million deal with Milwaukee. If he makes Cleveland’s roster, his base salary will be $1.5 million — a low-risk bet on proven power.

Injuries limited him to 90 games in 2024, but he still posted a 108 OPS+ and slugged .416, production that would have ranked among the Guardians’ better bats last season. A repeat performance would immediately boost the lineup.

His arrival intensifies competition at first base and designated hitter. A platoon setup makes sense, with Kyle Manzardo handling right-handed pitching and Hoskins complementing him while also rotating at DH. Batting behind José Ramírez, Hoskins could provide much-needed right-handed protection.

The addition solves one problem — power — while creating another: tougher roster decisions. With multiple players capable of filling first base and DH, spring training just became far more competitive for a team aiming to contend in the AL Central.

Cleveland.com for the full article.

Kids cracking me up!