Diocese to rebuild charred Hays school

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By The Associated Press

Story Published: Jul 2, 2008 at 5:14 PM MDT

Story Updated: Jul 2, 2008 at 5:14 PM MDT

GREAT FALLS - The St. Paul Mission School at Hays, gutted by fire last month, will be rebuilt.

Bishop Michael Warfel of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Great Falls-Billings made the announcement Tuesday. The school's fate had been up in the air after the June 15 fire. The school will not be rebuilt before the school year begins, and officials are reviewing options for the 2008-2009 school year. Warfel says he looks forward to dedicating a new school in August 2009.

Two 15-year-old Fort Belknap boys were charged in tribal court with arson, theft and burglary for allegedly setting the blaze that gutted the school. The school was first built in 1886 for the Gros Ventre and Assiniboine tribes and opened in 1887. The school has burned twice before, in 1931 and 1973. Both times the Diocese chose to rebuild.

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