Eight bizarre Hamilton stories from a weird year
If 2020 was a superhero it would certainly be Captain Unusual.
No one could have predicted the oddities this year produced. Here are a few strange local stories in case you missed them.
The roof of a Central Hamilton auto shop is not a normal place for wildlife sightings, but on one Monday in June, that's precisely where wildlife was spotted. Somehow, a deer managed to climb the Hess Street North building that lacked both stairs or ledges and it lingered there for a while, before disappearing without a trace.
In previous lifetimes, saliva was just considered gross. Now, moisture droplets are menacing and the idea of swapping spit with a stranger is beyond the pale. So when a man was caught spreading his slobber at a Hamilton computer store, metaphorical alarm bells sounded. For store owner Ed Chow, who dealt with the man when he came into Parvenu Computers, the whole episode was utterly bizarre."
Rural Stoney Creek is a better place for animal sightings, but likely not endangered big cats. Local and provincial wildlife officials were on the lookout for a loose cougar this summer, following unconfirmed sightings. There's no word yet on whether an actual cougar was roaming the streets of east Hamilton, or if it was a case of Facebook fanned panther paranoia.
The city saw a spike in water rescues this summer, in a year when locals were sticking around and taking advantage of Hamilton's waterways. But one family took the prize for owning their floatie rescue. The Masciolis have no regrets" after being rescued in the dead of night, near the harbour ship canal on a giant pink flamingo inflatable.
The City of Hamilton was set to begin a speed-camera pilot in September when a vandal momentarily halted the test. Paint was splashed over the phot-radar camera one day before enforcement was set to start. Unfortunately, there were no cameras pointed at the cameras.
Lower jaws were left hanging after a condo conversion deal fell through one day before it was supposed to become official. Speechless" investors who purchased units in the Dundurn Street building were told that the agreement was safe if the city approved and if the company had enough units sold. As it turns out, the signage outside the building claiming over 95 per cent sold," was not true. One investor thought the termination notice may have been a joke."
Back in mid-March, the thought of a business being shuttered because of an infection was just a looming fear. So a Mountain McDonald's shutting down during the first days of the first wave with a coronavirus case was big news - back then it was hard to find a roll of toilet paper, let alone a COVID test. As it turned out, that big news was a big mistake for a young employee, who played a fake COVID card as a get out of work scheme. The 18-year-old was charged with making and using forged documents, as well as fraud and mischief over $5,000.
Jeremy Kemeny is a Hamilton-based web editor at The Spectator. Reach him via email: jkemeny@thespec.com