Trouble strikes oil boomtown in N. Dakota

One oil boomtown is definitely not like the next. Or, at least that’s what The Eye hopes.

The murder of a schoolteacher by oil field job-seekers, an increased crime rate and roughnecks on drugs are among the tragedies an oil boom in the Bakken formation has brought to Williston, N.D.

In the July issue of Men’s Journal, Stephen Rodrick describes the dire situation in “Greetings from Boomtown, U.S.A.,” a portrayal of what ensues “when you double a county’s population with 10,000 drunk 27-year-old men thousands of miles away from their women and common sense.”

Arrests in the town have shot up from 832 in 2008 to 1,886 in 2011. Most notable, schoolteacher and mother of five Sherry Arnold, who lived in nearby Sidney, Mont., vanished after she went jogging one morning. Two Colorado men reportedly looking for work in the oil field, Lester Van Waters Jr. and Michael Keith Spell, were arrested in Arnold’s disappearance.

Then there’s the methamphetamine problem. One rig boss reported seeing two workers snorting something off a kitchen table right in his camp. Rodrick himself even heard “the unmistakable sound of something being snorted off an arm” in a restroom stall at a local breakfast joint.

Not surprisingly, the work itself doesn’t always go smoothly. In one particularly chilling scene, oil field workers were ordered to remove joints of pipes filled with a chemical-laden fluid after a drilling operation went wrong. Sludge rained down on the crew when the first pipe was lifted high up out of the ground.

“Happily, one member of Joe’s crew is turning his frown upside down,” Rodrick writes. “He frenetically licks the brown ooze as it nears his mouth.”

Our own Niobrara formation, in Weld County, has attracted thousands of oil field workers, too, but so far, few reports of the issues Rodrick writes about.

Ready to sponsor a state park?

The Foundation for Colorado State Parks, in partnership with Colorado Parks and Wildlife, will hold a meeting in Fort Collins July 31 to discuss a proposed corporate sponsorship program.

The whole idea is to boost funding for the Foundation for Colorado State Parks by creating public-private partnerships with the business and corporate sectors of Colorado.

“We believe this new outreach to the private sector will significantly strengthen the partnership between the public, private and philanthropic sectors, all of whom share a common love for Colorado’s amazing system of state parks,” said Jeff Shoemaker, executive director for the Foundation.

The Foundation has held meetings in Colorado Springs and Grand Junction, with another planned in Denver on Aug. 8.

The Fort Collins meeting will be held at the Fort Collins Area Chamber of Commerce, 225 S. Meldrum, from 7-9 p.m.

Running for hunger

Phil Purdy is running 400 miles in a grueling endeavor to raise $15,000 for the Food Bank of Larimer County.

Purdy already ran the first leg of his effort during the 200-mile EPIC Rocky Mountain Relay, which was staged July 19-20. He now plans to run the 200-mile Wild West Relay from Aug. 3-4.

Ultrarunners like Purdy run distances greater than a marathon and 200-mile races are typically done in 24 hours by teams of three to 12 people alternating between running and resting. Instead, Purdy will run the races alone, though with support from a 10-member team.

Purdy aims to draw attention to the need of local and national food charities amid the weak economy.

“I cannot stand by in our current social, cultural and economic situation and do nothing,” Purdy said. “This is my response.”

The money he hopes to raise will provide enough for 60,000 meals.

“Phil’s determination and dedication to our cause is phenomenal,” said Amy Pezzani, the food bank’s executive director. “We believe one person can make a real difference in the lives of others, and Phil is one of those extraordinary people doing just that.”

Last year, Purdy ran the Wild West Relay solo and raised $6,300, enough money for 15,000 meals.

on Facebook on LinkedIn