Family Suffers Four Fires in Just Six Weeks
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Your community... your newspaper! Call 1-844-GNG-NEWS to renew subscribePSBEWFSUJTF today. $1.50 Vol. 59 No. 42 • Friday, January 29, 2021 Family suffers four fires in just six weeks Two other area families also lose homes in separate fires By Alan Hustak Grasslands News Bad luck seems to have come in threes for an Ituna family who have been burned out of a place to live three times since December. A mysterious fire on Dec. 1 gutted the house on 4th Avenue N.E. where Garry Williams lived with his partner Joan Sparvier and their five children between the ages of two and 22. After that fire the family moved into the Ituna hotel while the damage to their house was being re- paired. They were burned out of the hotel when it was de- stroyed by fire on Dec. 10. They were about to move back into the house in early January when it again caught fire. “We’re really scared, afraid. We’re all jumpy. None of this makes any sense,” Sparvier told Grasslands News last week as she fought back tears. “I’m getting Scheer presents Legion funding ALAN HUSTAK | GRASSLANDS NEWS paranoid.” Legion vice president Jenny Melanson accepts a $15,605 COVID-19 relief cheque from local MP The family lost everything in the first fire which Andrew Scheer. The money from Veterans Affairs Canada will help the local Branch #35 make up started in an upstairs bedroom. “The whole upstairs IRUUHYHQXHWKDWLWKDVORVWGXULQJWKHSDQGHPLF´:H·UHJUDWHIXO·VDLG/HJLRQEUDQFKSUHVLGHQW floor dropped, everything just dropped right down. We saved the Christmas tree and a television.” said /OR\G6DQGHUFRFN´7KLVPRQH\ZLOOKHOSWKHEUDQFKWRZHDWKHUWKHSDQGHPLFDOLWWOHORQJHUµ:KLOH Williams, a retired tradesman who is clinically blind WKHEUDQFKLVÀQDQFLDOO\VHFXUHLWKDVOLWWOHLQUHVHUYHWRGHDOZLWKHPHUJHQFLHVLIVRPHWKLQJJRHV and lives on a disability pension. “Our eight year wrong with its three different heating systems and its two water heaters. The money comes from old daughter lost a pet rabbit. Thousands of hockey WKH7UXGHDXJRYHUQPHQW·VPLOOLRQDLGSDFNDJHWRYDULRXVYHWHUDQRUJDQL]DWLRQVWRFRYHURSHU- cards, coins and currency, family heirlooms, things ational costs such as insurance, utilities, property taxes, and administrative costs and wages. The that can never be replaced, all gone.” Fort Legion also sponsors the sea cadets youth program, supports a service dog program, and After the hotel fire, the family moved 200 km from helps purchase equipment for the local seniors care home. Ituna to another town. “Serendipity in Yorkton was a big help, a huge support in getting us through Christ- mas,” said Sparvier. The family had planned to move back to the house in Ituna in early January after the all the damage repaired, all the a fire destroyed their house on The family is said to be doing four split level had been renovated. drywall was up, we had the paint, Well Road on Jan. 12. Fire depart- fine and were well fed, well clothed Then the building was gutted for a second time. the electrical wiring was all good. ment investigators say the blaze and are overwhelmed and beyond This time the fire started in the basement. “We had No one can explain it.” which began at 5 a.m. started ac- grateful for the support and kind Even more distressing, last cidentally. “You hear about fire, messages that people have already week a small fire began in a de- but you never think it’s going to sent. Donations are being accepted fective light socket in the trailer happen to you,” said Belinda-Lee for the family, however through home the couple now reside at in a Krienke. “The exploding of the e-transfers, which can be sent to nearby community (their location house and then the power went johansonfamilybenefit@gmail. has been withheld). out and we couldn’t see anything. com. Williams and Sparvier say they It was pretty scary.” have a theory of why their house Krienke and her husband, au- burned twice. But without any ev- tomobile dealer Brad Krienke, idence to support it they will wait escaped the blaze, with their Fort elementary until the investigation into the two daughter Crystal and granddaugh- blazes is complete. ter Israella Dieter. A pet bird and a class moves to “Whatever hope we might have dog were salvaged from the flames had about going back to Ituna has but a puppy was lost in the fire. been ripped out from under us,” A Stockholm family was also online learning said Sparvier. “The house was so left homeless on Jan. 12 when a big and we’ve lost everything.” mid-day fire destroyed their fam- On Jan. 26, Public Health The family wasn’t insured. “I’m ily farm southwest of the town. informed Prairie Valley School going to hold on to the property, Melissa and Jesse Johanson and Division (PVSD) of a positive but I can’t rebuild,” said Williams their two kids escaped injury but COVID-19 diagnosis in an who bought the house 11 years the house was a total loss. individual associated with Fort ago. The replacement value of the Stockholm Volunteer Fire De- Qu’Appelle Elementary School. house and contents is estimated to partment said that they were dis- One classroom is transitioning be $350,000. patched at 12:35 p.m. for the fire to online learning until Feb. 8. A GoFundMe page has been set but by the time they arrived on PVSD stated that those ALAN HUSTAK | GRASSLANDS NEWS up for the family. scene they were unable to save the considered close contacts have )RXUÀUHV home. Fortunately, all of the occu- been contacted and instructed Garry Williams and his partner Joan Sparvier survived Two other families lose homes in pants were safely out of the house. to isolate for 14 days. Fort IRXUÀUHVVLQFH'HFHPEHU7KHFRXSOHORVWWKHLUKRPHLQ separate fires on Jan. 12 Firefighters worked to contain the Qu’Appelle Elementary School ,WXQDRQ'HFZHUHEXUQHGRXWRIWKHLUKRWHORQ'HF blaze and cool down embers for six will remain open and all other VDZWKHLUKRXVHLQ,WXQDJXWWHGDJDLQE\ÀUHLQ-DQXDU\ In Fort Qu’Appelle, the Krienke hours, returning back in service at classes will continue. DQGKDGDVPDOOÀUHLQDKRPHWKH\DUHQRZOLYLQJLQ family was also left homeless after 6:30 p.m. 2 January 29, 2021 0HOYLOOH$GYDQFH:KLWHZRRG*UHQIHOO+HUDOG6XQ)RUW4X·$SSHOOH7LPHV Grasslands News Scheer adjusts to role as MP By Alan Hustak astating for energy sector the U.S. Democratic party election were held today Grasslands News workers and proof that are extremely left wing. O’Toole would do much Trudeau’s energy policies We need a government worse than Scheer who are a failure. that is pro growth, pro came close to winning Now that Andrew “We’re not off to a great jobs, pro prosperity.” the last election. “It’s Scheer no longer needs start, are we? Killing Key- Scheer expects a fed- been tough for our leader to hunt for votes across stone was the first thing eral election this year. to make a breakthrough the country, the former Biden did. He leaned into Prime Minister Trudeau in a COVID environ- leader of the Conserva- it. He had an edge to it. Of is riding high in the pub- ment. I know how hard tive Party has taken up all of the range of options lic opinion polls, has no it is especially when the deer hunting. Prime Minister Trudeau internal division in his mainstream media holds “I’m an animal lover, (including sanctions) he party, and is expected Justin Trudeau in a pos- I’m a softie. The first has had to react, he put to call a snap election itive light,” said Scheer. time I went hunting this out a press release saying before the opposition “You can lose a lot of winter I didn’t think I he was “disappointed” as brings down his minority money betting on the could pull the trigger,” $/$1+867$._*5$66/$1'61(:6 if the cancellation means government. So far, Erin outcome of elections. But Scheer adjusting the Member for Regi- nothing to him. Keystone O’Toole, Scheer’s succes- I’m optimistic. I’m ready. In an interview with Grasslands News Member of na-Qu’Appelle said as he is a sparkplug for thou- sor as party leader hasn’t I pride myself on being a sat down for breakfast Parliament Andrew Scheer talks about life after sands and thousands of made much of an impact visible member of Parlia- in Fort Qu’Appelle with being leader of the Conservative Party. jobs. Some elements in on the electorate. If an ment.” Grasslands News last week. “But then, one of the guys who took me out and put a rifle in my hand told me, no deer ever dies in palliative care, sur- rounded by his family.” It didn’t take much Yes Sir, That’s more than that to per- of Babies suade Scheer to shed whatever reservations born in 2020 he may have had. On his first outing near Stras- bourg, he bagged 100 pounds of deer meat with a .308 Winchester. The former Speaker of the House and Conserva- tive party leader is adjust- Our Baby ing to his new lifestyle as an MP and member of the shadow cabinet as infrastructure critic. He’s moved the family back to Regina and last week he dropped into Fort Qu’Appelle to meet with constituents and to give a COVID relief cheque to the Legion branch be- fore heading back to Ot- tawa to put in his “duty GRASSLANDS NEWS would like to Salute all Babies Born in 2020. week” in Ottawa. All fed- eral parties agreed last spring to hybrid sittings which reduce the number WINNER OF A $50.00 VISA GIFT CARD of MPs allowed to be in the House of Commons at any one time.