From devastation to determination, the heart of O’Neill one year later

O’NEILL, Neb. ( NCN ) - Around 6 a.m. on October 7th, 2024, Father Bernard Starmam was awakened by what he initially thought were sounds of nature.

“At first I thought a lighting trick was close,” Father Starmam recalled. ”I laid in bed for a minute and thought, that wasn’t lighting.”

Later that day, law enforcement officials reported that a vehicle had struck a gas line, causing a major explosion that severely damaged the local school, hospital, and demolished the St. Patrick’s Parish Hall.

Even a year later, amidst the wreckage of decades of memories and the involuntary uprooting of students, Father Starmam still reflects with a heavy heart.

“I’m not a guy that gets real emotional, but this one gets me,” he shared.

After assessing the school’s charred remains, fire marshals init