A story about mistakes, kindness and redemption by Back in the Bay Magazine columnist Nancy Avery

This is a story of youthful mistakes, kindness and finally, redemption. A story of unlikely friendships over many years.
I met Jimmy Kolios for the first time when he came to City Hall over 40 years ago while I worked in the Clerk’s Department. It would be safe to say that most people in North Bay know, or have heard of, Jim Kolios. He is the owner/proprietor of the well-loved Churchill’s Restaurant at the corner of Lakeshore Drive and Sunset Boulevard. And he is also a prolific developer who converts old, closed schools in the city into residences for a reasonable rent for seniors, as well as other buildings that he builds or renovates.
On the other hand, I met Wayne Dietrich probably in the early 1980s in a very inauspicious way. He was a welfare client and I was working in Mayor Stan Lawlor’s office on the second floor. It was a Friday afternoon and Wayne had come up to the second floor after being in the welfare office for help that he did not receive. He wanted to see the Mayor, who was not in the office, so he talked (or should I say, ranted) to me about his frustration. After listening to him, with some sympathy, I said that I was sorry, but that I could not help him. He made a comment like “well I guess I’ll have to do something illegal to get a bed for the night”. He left and as he went towards the front door there were two North Bay Police officers who arrested him for “Causing a disturbance in a Government
Building.” I learned the following Monday through the Nugget that he had spent the night in jail, so he did get a bed for the night! The sentence he received for that was 30 days in the local jail.
Wayne spent the next five to 10 years continuing as a welfare client and experienced a few more 30-day incarcerations, but sometimes Judge Labelle would give him probation. He admits he was not living a good life; he was smoking weed and drinking and dealing with anger and what in today’s
world is called ADHD, while hanging with the wrong people.
He also says he takes responsibility for his actions and knew he was behaving stupidly. At some time during these years Wayne was a client of Y.E.S. (Youth Employment Service) and my daughter Peggy was his contact there. They had several conversations and he still speaks kindly about their
relationship.

See the Fall Edition of the Back in the Bay Magazine for the rest of the Nancy Avery’s column …