From: Jennifer Hanson, thenorthbaybay.ca staff
NORTH BAY — It took well over an hour, but a man has finally won his screaming match against the Main Street Scotiabank building.
The battle began this morning at 7:51 am and concluded at 9:22 am, when the healthy hollerer ceased his perpetual howling and stumbled away from the bank.
“I have no idea what that was about,” says eyewitness Amelia Holtz. “I could hear him from all the way down by Cecil’s. I thought by the time I got to Scotiabank he’d have stopped, but no – he just kept screaming.”
Physically, the man did not seem to be in distress, though over an hour of non-stop screeching surely took a toll.
“Just incredible,” reflect Holtz. “He must really hate that bank.”
Not the Bank
Not so, says assistant manager and downtown resident Amit Adami.
“He’s been doing it for weeks. He walks up, takes a firm shoulder-width stance, and starts screaming.”
“I’ve also spotted him shouting at Creative Learning and CIBC and Pizza Pizza, so it might just be a general hatred of all buildings.”
The Final Victory
Amit hopes that today’s marathon wail-fest is the last.
“I doubt it will be, though,” sighs Adami. “So long as North Bay lacks strong social services, a comprehensive plan to help its at-risk population, funding to execute said plan and the gumption to tackle an ‘ugly’ issue which has consistently and exponentially been growing over the last ten years, our strong-lunged screecher will be just one of many who drive shoppers and residents away from the downtown core.”
“No joke here. I’m just really tired of waking up to the sound of people screaming on Main St.”