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Home of slain principal's widow is makeover finalist

Anita Weier  —  5/08/2008 1:14 pm

The home of Sue Klang, the widow of the Weston High School principal who was shot while disarming a student in 2006, has a good chance of receiving a makeover courtesy of the popular "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" television show.

Julie Lewis, a teacher in the district, made the nomination.

"I have been asked by 'Extreme Home Makeover' not to make any comments to the newspapers. They asked that we do not speak, and we do not know anything. They have not made a decision," Lewis said.

But in an e-mail to the staff at the Weston School District, Lewis wrote that the Klang home was a finalist, after she sent photos of the 120-year-old home.

The house uses wood heat and is in very bad condition, Lewis said in the e-mail.

"John and Sue felt very strongly that they needed to pay off the farm before they did anything to the house. It was paid off shortly before he was killed, and they never had a chance to do anything to the home," Lewis wrote.

She added that Sue Klang is feeling very overwhelmed about the amount of work that needs to be done, but she is the fifth generation to live on the farm and would like to live there as long as she can.

The casting director of ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" informed Lewis that the Klang home is a finalist, the e-mail said.

Lewis also urged staff members to vote for the home by sending an e-mail to castingwisconsin@gmail.com and use the subject line "Vote for the Klang Family." Others distributed the e-mail to obtain votes for the Klang home.

If the Klang home is selected, it would be the second Wisconsin house to be made over as a result of the popular television show. The family home of Matt and Christine Koepke near Fond du Lac was chosen in 2006, shortly before Matt Koepke died of cancer.

John Klang has been awarded a posthumous Carnegie Medal for heroism for tackling Eric Hainstock, a 15-year-old student who entered the school with guns. Hainstock shot Klang as they struggled and was later convicted of murder.

Anita Weier  —  5/08/2008 1:14 pm