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Yeah, whats a few deaths, rapes, or assaults or drugs or break-ins if the retailers and oil companies are happy, heck check BroncoGirls thread today, Wally World has registered sex offenders using their parking lot as home address. What is wrong w/ this picture folks!!
Last edited by JanND; 01-22-2012 at 07:06 AM..
Reason: sentence
I don't feel bad for any long time residents.. surely they CAN afford to relocate, the assessed value of their home has probably doubled to tripled.. even if it hasn't they could rent out bedrooms to people have a large supplementary income in the process.... if I was as long time resident not involved in the oil industry I'd take the money run this spring and move to eastern South Dakota.. Sioux Falls maybe. It's no fun living in a town that doesn't have the infrastructure to support it's population. Buy a house in SF and take the extra 100k profit and invest it. Get a new job, and pay no state income tax, and live in a warmer climate. Win, win, WIN!
So what you are saying is that the long time resident, school teacher, bank employee, etc. should get out. Move along. We don't care if you've lived her all your life. You can sell your "Home" and get on down the road because we are going to move in and run you out of town, but hey, we'll only be here for a few years and then we'll abandon the town because we don't care if it folds up.
What's the old saying? Money isn't everything? This is those peoples homes. They shouldn't be forced to move out just because there is an oil boom going on. How about teachers. I'm kind of glad they have the guts to stick it out or there wouldn't be anybody to teach the kids there. The school system certianly isn't going to up their wages to give the a competitive edge so they'll stay. So, they'll sell their home and move along. Which one of the oil field workers is going to teach school now?
Rent out bedrooms? A couple has a 2 bedroom house and 2 kids. You want the kids to move in to the bedroom with the parents so they can have some loud obnoxious drunk living in the room across the hall? Sure, that will work out.
The town should have built a fence around the city limits and said, "Fine, build your own town, out there. Buy land, build some grocery stores and clothing stores cause we want to preserve our town the way it is. Residents only inside the gate.
For all of you willingly giving up your homes and jobs in other states, read this...Scroll down in this link, pay particular attention to the two posts by jodcon. The first is quoted here, the second is in the link, scroll down to it.
Do some real research on housing, check realty web pages, read the threads about the housing shortages(do a search this forum), the living conditions, some have pics and videos. Make yourself fully aware before giving up job seniority elsewhere. You can't know what you don't know....Inform yourself.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DaninEGF
This was posted on a UND sports forum in a non-sports section talking about the oil boom. Post was made on 1/20/12....
All I can say is WOW... didnt realize it was this crazy.... we out in eastern ND dont have much idea what really is going on...
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Got this in my e-mail today, pretty much summarizes a lot of the bad things the oil activity has brought to the area. Williston used to be a nice day trip to go to, now you hope you never have to go there again. I pity the locals that cannot afford to relocate.
A meeting was held recently of the ND Sheriff’s & Deputies Association in Bismarck,,,, as part of this meeting we had an opportunity to sit down with Law Enforcement from western ND to discuss what they are going through with oil impact.
Here is a summary of points made:
1. Currently there are a total of 84 companies involved in the oil industry in western ND.
2. It takes between 2000 and 2200 semi loads of water per well. Currently there are 258 wells in progress with so many scheduled it is hard to determine the exact amount.
3. Traffic accidents, especially fatal traffic accidents are of very high concern. At one location on Highway 85 south of Williston, a traffic count was conducted in October of 2011. In one 24 hour period of time there where 29,000 vehicle through the intersection looked at with 60% of the traffic being semi’s.
4. Traffic is typically backed up for ½ to ¾ of a mile. One of the guys stated that one day last week he sat at an intersection on Highway 85 for about 30 minutes to get a big enough opening to cross over.
5. They have closed the weigh scale house because it was causing such a traffic jamb that it was closing the roadway.
6. Rent in Williston currently is: $ 2000 for a one bedroom to $ 3400 for a three bedroom appartment.
7. They have no more hook ups for campers any where in the area.
8. Williams County allows three campers per farmstead, the farmers almost all have three campers on their property and are charging $ 800 per camper per month for rent.
9. Wal Mart in Williston no longer stocks shelves, they bring out pallets of merchandise at night, and set it in the isles, people then take off of the pallets what they want.
10. On 1-1-12, the Williston Wal Mart had 148 campers overnight in their parking lot.
11. Willams County wrecked a pickup and ended up bringing it to Bismarck for repairs because there no available body shops to do the work. Williams County has purchased a trailer and has started to bring vehicles to the Bismarck area for repairs. Willaims County took a pickup in for ball joints and front brakes, the shop charged them $ 2800 for the repairs.
12. Williston and Williams County now produces more taxable sales than any other area in ND, including Fargo.
13. The Williams County jail has increased booking by 150%. With a 100% increase in inmate population. Bonds of $ 5k to $ 10 K are typically paid with cash out of pocket. The Williams County Sheriff stated that a couple of week ago he received a $ 63,000 bond in cash carried into the jail in a plastic Wal Mart bag.
14. Williams County Sheriff’s Department has more than doubled in staff over the last two years, they are now buying trailer houses that come up for sale to rent to newly hired deputies.
15. Williams County new starting salary with the academy is $ 46,000 plus 100% of all benefits paid.
16. They are in a continuous hiring cycle, they have no set budget at this time, the Sheriff has been told to manage his office to the best of his abilities and keep the Commission updated, but do not worry about the budget.
17. The Williston McDonalds just announced that they will pay $ 15 an hour, a $ 500 immediate sign on bonus and a single medical plan paid for.
18. The restaurants are full and with limited staff to work in them they usually just have the drive through open. The restaurants that have inside seating are now an hour wait at all times.
19. Law Enforcement in the Williams County area cannot provide training to staff due to time constraints and no location to hold training.
20. The local Motel 6 in Williston now rents rooms fro $ 129.95 per night.
21. Law Enforcement no longer does any proactive work (school programs, community services, house checks) they do very little traffic related issues as well, they just to from call to call. Bars fights are one of the biggest issues.
22. Other law enforcement issues include the strip clubs. The local clubs have now started what is called “babe buses”. These buses go out to areas and pick up people and bus them back and forth to the strip clubs, the buses have poles on them as well as live entertainment.
23. Drug problems are immense, and they are seeing narcotics that they have never seen in the area before, like black tar heroin.
24. The civil process section of the Sheriff’s Department use to average 1800 paper a year, they are now doing 4500 processes a year.
25. Law Enforcement said that they make as many Driving under the influence arrest at 10 Am as they do at midnight.
26. Illegal aliens have become a huge problem, especially getting the proper authorities to remove them from the Country.
27. The current thought from the oil companies is that the area will continue to grow as it has over the past two years for the next five years and stay for ten years. At the end of the ten years they feel the communities will drop in population somewhat.
28. The current thought is that the oil companies will be drilling wells on every 1280 acres of leased land, this way they have tied up the land and do not have to re-lease the property.
29. The Williston General Motors dealership has now become the number 1 seller of Corvettes in the upper Midwest.
30. The bigger oil companies are doing very well in hiring good people. They run checks and make sure the people they hire are drug free; it is the smaller companies that are having trouble-hiring people that will look the other way on hiring issues.
31. They said they do not know anybody anymore. The Sheriff of Williams County he use to be able to go to Wal Mart and not be walk very far without knowing somebody, now he does not know any of the people in there.
32. Many of the local citizens are taking retirement and moving out of the area.
33. They have an extreme amount of alcohol abuse going on. They have more calls than ever of drunk people trying to get into houses, to find out they are at the wrong place.
34. Minot population has grown by a projected 9000 people since the completion of the 2000 census. Minot is expecting to reach a population of 75,000 in the nest five years.
Trinity Hospital in Minot has just hired 115 nurses from the Philippines to work at the hospital, as they cannot get enough local nurses to apply.
Well the police were busy at the bars last night, I guess it was something else downtown. Yes, Williston has always been a nice town, but I have to say the quality of life has went down for a lot of people that live there. Of course a lot are making great money, but not everyone is and not every is enjoying the change that has come about. It's a damned if you do and don't.
I had a call from my pastor yesterday to see if I could try and help a woman moved here from Idaho, she is making $9.50 an hour at a local hotel, she can't make it on that and no one living alone can do that in the Bakken area. I am going to try and find more contacts for her and see if I can point her in another direction. Not everyone is making a great wage and living a high lifestyle. I really think there needs to be more research and facts found on how everyone is making it, and not just those straight in the oil field jobs.
Crime is up and I don't care what anyone says, this is not a big city, the rates for Williston how it has raised in the last couple of years is staggering to me and many others. I understand that crimes in "the big cities" totally outshines what is around the Bakken area. However, there are some pretty interesting stats on how Williston compares with North Dakota as whole, and on a national level. Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowedScroll down the page and look at the city versus state versus national crime comparison-violent crimes is crazy for Williston in 2009. "The number of domestic-disturbance calls and arrests for such crimes as DUI, assault and theft in just the first half of 2011 was twice the total for all of 2010 Doctors are treating more patients for chlamydia, a sexually transmitted disease, in some of the biggest oil-producing counties in western North Dakota — 237 cases in 2010 compared with 145 in 2008" quoted from Drilling boom brings surge in crime to small towns - Yahoo! News
Of course it reasons with influx of people that there will be a rise like this, I am hopeful that there will be a tapering in the near future where the Bakken area will be able to catch up and things will slow down a bit.
I agree Bronco girl (to a point) we had another stabbing and shooting in Bismarck yesterday. And this type of crime is nothing new the past few years in Bismarck. And this crime is not even related to the oil boom. The more people you have, the more crimes you will have. Much of the crime in Williston seems isolated and appears to be associated with the large volume of people at the bars. Just like any town/city. You can get yourself into trouble by hanging out in places that involve large number of people and booze. People in Williston and Bismarck are not getting assaulted, robbed, shot or stabbed going about their daily routine (home, work, shopping, etc...) unlike a big city, where innocent people are caught in the "crossfire" of violent crimes. It seems like all the crime we hear about involve a fight between a bunch of drunk guys at one of the many bars or couple strip clubs in downtown Williston or "domestic" abuse which can happen in even the tiniest town, USA. I would be worried if I start reading about random families being murdered, assaulted or robbed during a home invasion, or innocent people being shot "crossfire" at wal-mart, or even a truly legitimate "abduction" like what happened to Sheri Arnold in Sidney, MT. (which was very much an isolated situation and doesn't happen that often even in large cities) But so far, Williston has been sheltered from any violent crimes and assaults that get reported quite often in other towns like Fargo, Bismarck, Rapid City, and BIllings. I hope Williston doesn't get that bad. I feel safer in Williston, than I do in Minot (where there have been numerous stabbings and shootings in recent years) Williston is busier and crime is increasing, but not to the point that it should be labeled a dangerous town to live in. Not yet anyway.
I agree Bronco girl (to a point) we had another stabbing and shooting in Bismarck yesterday. And this type of crime is nothing new the past few years in Bismarck. And this crime is not even related to the oil boom. The more people you have, the more crimes you will have. Much of the crime in Williston seems isolated and appears to be associated with the large volume of people at the bars. Just like any town/city. You can get yourself into trouble by hanging out in places that involve large number of people and booze. People in Williston and Bismarck are not getting assaulted, robbed, shot or stabbed going about their daily routine (home, work, shopping, etc...) unlike a big city, where innocent people are caught in the "crossfire" of violent crimes. It seems like all the crime we hear about involve a fight between a bunch of drunk guys at one of the many bars or couple strip clubs in downtown Williston or "domestic" abuse which can happen in even the tiniest town, USA. I would be worried if I start reading about random families being murdered, assaulted or robbed during a home invasion, or innocent people being shot "crossfire" at wal-mart, or even a truly legitimate "abduction" like what happened to Sheri Arnold in Sidney, MT. (which was very much an isolated situation and doesn't happen that often even in large cities) But so far, Williston has been sheltered from any violent crimes and assaults that get reported quite often in other towns like Fargo, Bismarck, Rapid City, and BIllings. I hope Williston doesn't get that bad. I feel safer in Williston, than I do in Minot (where there have been numerous stabbings and shootings in recent years) Williston is busier and crime is increasing, but not to the point that it should be labeled a dangerous town to live in. Not yet anyway.
Yes, that is true that Williston isn't that bad like as you describe. I guess it is harder for me than I want to admit that I miss the way it used to be where I could send my girls out walking with the dogs themselves or walk home from school by themselves. I know it isn't bad like the bigger cities, but this isn't a bigger city and I am selfish and don't want it to be. I do think of moving, but doubt I will as it's still home here and always will be. I seriously will probably buy something out of state though to get away fromthings, somewhere up in the mountains, haha seriously.
I still go to Walmart by myself and go on with daily life, but we do stick together me and my girls, I'm more worried about their safety than anything. I agree with you on the Minot issue, there has been some really crazy crimes there the last couple of years.
LOL, and anyone, please don't tell me if I don't like it move out!
#22 Tells me that things are now Officially out of control...
Along with the Sheriff being told don't worry about the budget.. That translate too we got to get a hold of this situation...
This is makes my mind wander; I can see some Frak group getting back after being out a few weeks and hes got 5 grand in his pocket. He feels on top of the world in the bar..
Lots of testosterone from the Young Bucks; and the mid 30's are being challenged and the 40's are being rolled. Sounds like a Helluva time lol...
Here's a million dollar Idea for you people there; Go to the bars with your video camera and run a series called Good Time's Gone Bad in the BAKKEN!
This list is from an actual meeting of Law Enforcement Officials....It was emailed to a person that then posted it on a Sioux Forum. DanEGF....a very reputable poster is the Original Poster that started the thread you are posting on....Go to the first, original post....Click on the link, scroll down to that letter, entered by JodCon. The source is the Law Enforcement officials all over Western N.D. i.e. Notes at a meeting. Who knows who JodCon or his friends are. Several of the things on the list were questioned, but many are validated if you read the threads, the Williston Herald, and several other sources throughout the forum, many things have been mentioned. This is an opinion forum. You are entitled to an opinion. The actual folks that deal w/ these and many more issues that we public folks don't always have first hand knowledge of evidently disclosed these to someone while visiting. This someone took notes, evidently. Where is the pure patch humor you are speaking of?? I'm curious. If you are questioning the source.....so be it....And, when you haven't lived anywhere, or worked anywhere, longer than a few days, it is premature for you to call people out that have. All knowledge is comparison......Those of Us that have lived, worked spent our lives here, have the ability to compare what it is like in Western N.D., to what it once was.....
The RUMOR was the McDonalds signing bonus and 18 an hour. Just curious of the source being verified.
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Get a new job, and pay no state income tax, and live in a warmer climate. Win, win, WIN!
I do think of moving, but doubt I will as it's still home here and always will be. I seriously will probably buy something out of state though to get away fromthings, somewhere up in the mountains, haha seriously.
