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VOLUME ONE-HUNDRED EIGHT
PM40011853 R08546
NUMBER FIVE
STETTLER, ALBERTA
January 29, 2014
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‘I do not know what happened’ Surviving son clarifies his statements about fatal fire at Castor farm JOHN M AC N EIL Independent editor
school board, welcomed the announcement in Bashaw. Severson said “Bashaw School has been No. 1 on the BRSD capital plan for several years,” and that the new structure would not only benefit students and staff, but also the entire community of Bashaw.
Jason Klaus wants to set the record straight. The surviving son of a Castor-area family that vanished in an overnight farmhouse fire eight weeks ago says he doesn’t know what happened. Klaus lost his parents and sister after a blaze that police have deemed as “suspicious.” The 38-year-old farmer has faced RCMP questioning as recently as last week, and questions loom in the community whether he’s a victim or a suspect. Klaus said Monday that he’s tired of such suspicion, though he admits that he might not have chosen his words carefully in previous interviews about the case. Specifically, he regrets saying in a mid-January interview with the Stettler Independent and Castor Advance that “I’m the one who knows what happened.” On reflection, he said he was trying to protect other members of his extended family, including his grandparents, suggesting that he was the go-to family contact. “I told (the reporter) to leave my family and grandparents alone (and) to contact me, ’cause I’m the one that knows what’s happened or what’s going on, as far as just the house burning down and my family in it,” Klaus said Monday in Stettler. “As far as the crime itself, I do not know what happened.” Although he has been quoted in daily newspapers, including the Red Deer Advocate and Edmonton Journal, since the Dec. 8 tragedy, he said his remarks in the Jan. 15 edition of the Independent and the Jan. 16 issue of the Advance have caused him grief and sparked more police and public suspicion of him. “It’s made my life more upside-down, and the cops have pointed their finger at me,” he said. “I just know what happened (personally). I’ve lost my farm, my house, my family and everything that matters most to me. That’s all I know.” While some people construed his mid-January comments as incriminating, others took them at face value and thought Klaus meant he was keeping abreast of the case and perhaps even privy to the ongoing police investigation. “Some people put two and two together and used common sense, thinking that ‘Jason might be the one that knows what happened, as far as the house burning down,’ yes,” he said. “But some have taken it the other way, thinking that I actually know what happened, as far as the crime is concerned. “And I do not. It’s sad how people can be (accusatory).” The Calgary Major Crimes unit has deployed an investigative team that is working on the case full-time. Officers conducted interviews in Castor and Stettler just last week. Other than his personal dealings with RCMP investigators, Klaus said he doesn’t know how police are progressing with the investigation. “I don’t know. I have no updates on the case. I know they’re working on it as hard as they can, but I don’t know where they are, as far as getting anything solved.” He said he’s emotionally drained after the death of his father Gordon and his 40-year-old sister Monica and the suspected death of his mother Sandi, whose remains weren’t accounted for. “It’s a complete nightmare,” Klaus said. “Every day is getting harder. I’m trying to continue on with the farm and it’s harder, because everything reminds me of all three of them over there, and it’s just been a real hard roller-coaster of emotions. “I’m trying to stay focused, and with people spreading rumours … it doesn’t help. I’m having a hard time with this.”
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JOHN MacNEILI/Independent editor
BEST FOOT FORWARD — Kaitlyn Jenkins, 12, of Red Deer was among 220 competitors in the Hammerfest martial arts championships that the Dual Dragons Taekwondo Club hosted Saturday in Stettler. See Page B3.
Bashaw banks on new school LISA JOY Independent reporter School officials and parents were ecstatic after the province announced last Friday plans for a new 300-student capacity kindergarten to Grade 12 school for Bashaw. “My reaction — whoo hoo,” Diane Hutchinson, the communications coordinator for the Battle River School Division, said Tuesday. Although a construction timeline hasn’t been set, the school is slated to have a capacity of 300 students and replace the current 1922 structure. “There’s mechanical, plumbing and electrical concerns that would probably be more fiscally expensive to repair rather than start from scratch,” said Lori Pearson, parent chairperson of the Bashaw School Council. Hutchinson said the division appreciates the “optimism” that the current 200-student population will grow, but said she doesn’t
Contributed photo
School council chair Lori Pearson and students welcome the announcement last Friday that the province plans to build a 300-student capacity school in Bashaw. know whether the school will be built initially for 300 students, or whether that will come down the road through portable classrooms. “We don’t know those things yet,” she said, adding those details will become available in the coming weeks. Pearson said she’s optimistic that there will be
growth in Bashaw and the surrounding area to help fill the new school. “I believe Bashaw has the ability and capability to grow. I am aware that the north shore of Buffalo Lake is currently undergoing development and lots are being subdivided.” Kendall Severson, the chairman of the Battle River
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