Mayor Day discusses what his administration is doing to get New Philadelphia through the pandemic while also maintaining a steady focus on growing the city for years to come, long after the virus has left the spotlight. 

May is Mental Health Awareness month and Community Mental Healthcare's Miles Riley discusses breaking down the stigma of seeking mental health treatment, as well as his own growth in understanding behavioral health. 

Jim and George both found opportunity to help when the COVID-19 response ramped up to full force. Each using their own setups and a little innovation to bring relief to seperate areas of this crisis. Amid the depressing, scary and increasingly-stale daily reports about why we should be worried, these are two men who are showing us exactly why our roots need to be deeply stretched into local soil at times like this. 

     We’ve all been asked to suffer in silence lately. Spending time stuck in our heads, wrestling our own demons with the unwanted bounty of time the state; the nation; the world has been suddenly allotted. Lucky for me, and for many of the people reading this, that means pulling myself out of mild to moderate depression. Finding the energy to reorganize my belongings for the seventh time and playing both sides of an argument with my pets everyday around dinner. Sure we’re uncomfortable. Understandably worried about the future and uncertain if we really want to know what it holds. But for other people this isolation can lead to literal death.

     Isolation is protecting so many of us. It’s necessary and the best hope we have at keeping the fallout from Coronavirus at a minimum. But it’s damning for so many people who are in recovery from drug or alcohol addiction. It’s ruining weeks, months or years of hard work and commitment with just a couple weeks being cut off from sponsors or separated from vital support systems that give people strength to stay sober.

     Erik Frederickson knows this. He’s become the local voice for Tuscarawas County’s Fight against addiction and lately he’s been responding to panicked calls for help. This episode of Hot Board is for anyone struggling, anyone who knows someone struggling, or for those who just want to help. Erik talks about his own personal battles, his journey through recovery, an 11-year anniversary and how he’s applying that to his mission, @Recovering Reality where he helps people in similar situations.

     I say this a lot, but I’m just some kid who pushes buttons and works in front of a microphone. It’s the people I talk to that make my work special, and Erik has been a big fish in this county pond that I’ve dreamed of finally catching for a conversation. I know he’s going to be one of the main names mentioned when this crisis - this addiction crisis - is in our rear view.

Tuscarawas County is seeing a wave of ingenuity and community support amidst this response to COVID-19. Ingenuity from businesses who are scrambling to meet the governor's demands, and support from the customers who value them. The Daily Grind owner Eric Dietz talks about the dedication of his employees, the creativity of local business owners, and the importance of buying and shopping local. 

Vickie and I talk about the latest facts around the coronavirus and how this impact will develop on the local level. This is straight-from-the-tap information, and Vickie pulls no punches in telling how widespread this virus could could be, and what additional measures we should be prepared to take.

Andrew Wilsterman, the self-titled Good Neighbor in Chief, sits down to talk about how he started this movement of doing good in Tuscarawas County, and where he hopes to take the project in 2020.