Oconto Falls parish recovers from fire

OCONTO FALLS — Yellow caution tape surrounds St. Anthony School as a reminder of a fire that broke out at approximately 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 21. While some damage is visible on the outer structure of the school, the blaze gutted the inside of the 55-year-old building, said Tim Magnin, Oconto Falls fire chief. The adjoining St. Anthony Church was covered in soot, but spared of any serious damage.

The morning Ash Wednesday Mass was moved to St. Patrick Church in Stiles. The evening Mass was canceled. Parish members were directed to evening Mass at Holy Trinity Church in Oconto. Fr. Joel Sember, pastor at St. Anthony, said that he has seen the somber effect the fire has had on the people of the school and parish community.

"People are crying a lot," he said. "They are taking it very personally. This is part of their family; it's part of their community, and so they are taking this as if it happened to their home."

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This today:

A 16-year-old boy is to be arraigned Wednesday on charges he set the Feb. 21 fire that heavily damaged St. Anthony School in Oconto Falls.

At a custody hearing Monday morning, Oconto County Circuit Court Judge Jay N. Conley was told the boy acknowledged starting several fires.

The boy “admitted being involved in setting fires at St. Anthony School” to Oconto Falls Police Chief Mike Roberts, said Michael Schultz, a juvenile case worker for the Oconto County Department of Human Services.

GBPG