Ness spoke before oil industry officials and wildlife conservation representatives on Tuesday to address some of the concerns.  A spokesman for the state chapter of The Wildlife Society believes that oil development in general is damaging wildlife and its habitat.  While development of the pipeline infrastructure was high on the list of solutions, other voluntary measures included locating oil wells, related facilities and roads in “clustered configurations” outside of wildlife sensitive areas to lessen disturbance to animals and curb the amount of habitat lost to oil exploration.

It’s the director of the state Game and Fish Department, Terry Steinwand’s belief that wildlife and hunting opportunities can coexist with oil production in North Dakota; although some of the conference believed that more stringent regulations in place — that are not voluntary — need to be in place to protect the state’s wildlife and land.  According to Steinwald, “Is it a perfect scenario? No it’s not, but it is a workable scenario.”

North Dakota’s Game and Fish Department has actively been mapping sensitive wildlife habitat areas (mule deer, bighorn sheep, sage grouse, and pronghorn antelope) for over a year in the oil patch.  The North Dakota Petroleum Council, which represents over 400 companies working in te Bakken states that a majority of the employees in the energy industry are sportsmen and that most of their companies would adopt measures to protect wildlife.

Tulsa, Oklahoma based Oneok Partners LP reported this week that their proposed $1.8 billion oil pipeline from North Dakota to Oklahoma, known as the Bakken Crude Express Pipeline, has been derailed due to the company’s inability to secure enough commitments to transport Bakken crude.  While the overall outlook for crude oil supply is healthy from the Bakken Shale in western North Dakota and eastern Montana, Oneok was unable to secure enough long term commitments from producers for the 1,300 mile pipeline.  The Bakken Crude Express would have transported 200,000 barrels per day.

In spite of this, Oneok still has forward movement on $4.8 billion of announced natural gas & natural gas liquids projects; with the majority of those projects in the Bakken.

Not that long ago (although admittedly longer for some than others), most of us in this part of the world believed in Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny. As children it was culturally acceptable to operate in “a world of make-believe”.  Simply put, truth is limited by one’s ability to reason. Broken down a bit further, reason is systematically built on experience and understanding both of which develop with age. Beliefs, which were unquestioned as children, are measured with a much greater level of scrutiny as we move into adulthood.

Yet, somewhere along the line, we all reach a point wherein we are confronted with new tales of wonder that stir something deep in our hearts. Suddenly, a challenge is put to our minds in a way that stirs a childlike excitement and tests the limits of our ability to reason for ourselves. Amazingly, if a story is told with a full measure of passion, a half-cup of restorative justice and a mere 1/4 teaspoon of truth all to many of us return again to the same childish ways that we once abandoned.

Each and every day we draw conclusions from a collection of information, which lead us to action based exclusively on our ability to reason. This is life.

If this is life, why then is there so much written, spoken, and taught based on an understanding that is absent of reason. One area where this pattern of reaching conclusions apart from reason is becoming increasingly evident is in the global discussion regarding energy.

This article is not a scholarly argument based on carefully conducted studies or tenable scientific positions. Rather, it simply seeks to challenge those involved in the discussion at the local level to allow reason to be our guide.

Far too many times in the past few months I have listened to arguments that have no basis in reason whatsoever. This is not a blanket statement, decrying any and all positions that differ from my own thoughts on the need for conventional energy. Nor am I arguing that a global shift to less conventional or currently unknown forms of energy will one day become necessary. My point is simple, for discussion on any complex issue to be productive it must be based on reason rather than emotion and supported by specifics rather than sweeping statements.

Over the past few months I have had the privilege to be part of numerous discussions on several topics regarding the impact of energy development in the region. Several of those conversations have centered on the impact of coal development in Montana. Although I could produce a long laundry list of arguments supporting my position to do so would fall outside the scope of this article. The point I want to make is this, discussions about future of coal as viable resource are well worth having. However, the value of the conversation is immediately diminished when unsupportable assertions are the basis of the conversation.

One example of this is the ongoing discussion on coal trains expected to pass through the state. As a long time resident of Montana I am convinced that this is a must have discussion. Yet, for the discussion to produce a sustainable solution the conversation must be based on foundation of factual information.

For the purpose of this article I will speak only to the issue of the specific number of coal trains required to ship Montana coal to out of state domestic and overseas markets. If a solution is to be reached doesn’t it make sense to know the parameters of the problem?

If someone asked me to cook a meal for a large banquet one of the first questions I would ask would be how large is large? In other words how many do you want me to prepare for? Should I plan the meal for 50 or 500? The meal plan, the supplies needed, and preparation details would vary greatly depending on how many people were expected to attend.

Thus, developing appropriate solutions for each challenge that might arise would be dependent on the attendance expectations. In the same manner, meeting the challenges presented by an increase in coal train traffic would depend heavily on the number of coal trains actually expected to be put into service.

I have seen numbers in print that range from 30 to 60 additional trains a day moving through Billings. At a recent State Oil and Gas Board hearing, it was purported that 90 additional trains would soon be running through the state. In reality, the numbers will be determined by rail capacity. As such, organizations like BNSF and MRL are far more accurate sources of information than studies, which reach conclusions based on speculation without any input from the companies responsible for rail operation through the state. According to MRL, total capacity through Montana could be increased by 16 trains a day if a significant investment was made in the additional infrastructure.

A prosperous future is only possible when productive conversations lead to productive solutions. Productive conversations are only possible when reason prevails.

By Kevin G. Hall

McClatchy Newspapers

SIDNEY, Mont — Politicians are quick to extol the virtues of domestic oil drilling while ignoring the trade-offs. Here in this fast-developing Western oil patch, the gritty side of America’s new oil boom is on display with rising crime, a slain schoolteacher, rents that have tripled and public resources stretched thin. Some area high schools are at historic low attendance levels, as students drop out to work the oilfields, and most everyone worries that the boom is transforming small-town values into something new and unpredictable.

“It’s just happened so fast, and many small communities just didn’t have time to plan,” said Mike Coryell, executive director of the Area Economic Development Council of Miles City, located just south of the oil boom but feeling its effects. “The impacts hit but you don’t have the resources to attack it.”

The Bakken Shale, some 200,000 square miles of it, stretches across North Dakota, Montana, Native American reservations and parts of Canada’s Saskatchewan province. The area saw a short-lived boom in the 1980s, but technology back then allowed only vertical drilling. Breakthroughs in horizontal drilling, and hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” have unleashed a drilling boom that many expect to last for decades.

Signs of the times abound. Natural gas is flared in the middle of sugar-beet farms and on prairie ranches that look like the set of old TV Westerns. Just across the North Dakota line, oil rigs dot a landscape where President Theodore Roosevelt lived out his final years, and where explorers Lewis and Clark famously rendezvoused at the confluence of the Yellowstone and Missouri rivers.

“We’re glad we have an area that’s booming . . . but it has totally ruined the quality of life around here,” said Kerry Finsaas, 60, walking her land, which abuts an expanded rail terminal near Trenton, N.D. “I’d say life as we knew it here is gone.”

After 34 years on her land, Finsaas and her husband, Darrell, look out the kitchen window at a natural gas flare a few hundred feet away. Crude oil is pumped into rail tank cars that stretch in front of their house almost as far as the eye can see. Nearby irrigation ditches adjacent to a new open-air disposal pond reek of sewage.

“We don’t need a night light,” Finsaas said sarcastically.

From Miles City, where Coryell struggles to keep pace with growth, it’s almost 50 miles to Sidney, Montana’s oil hub, and roughly 120 miles to Williston, N.D., the heart of the region’s oil boom. Rents have risen so high in both places that workers now commute there from Miles City.

Coryell’s office is helping to secure funding for a new jail. That’s not the traditional work of economic development officials, but Miles City, like other area small towns, is burdened by rising crime. Parts of its current jail date to 1904.

“We need them to find oil in Custer County, that’s what we need,” said Coryell, referring to the revenues such a strike would bring to towns in the region. “I don’t think people understand the impacts on a rural area, the small towns that are used to having a quiet lifestyle.”

These impacts include sugar-beet farmers on tractors competing for space on tight two-lane highways with rumbling rigs that rush sand, water and heavy machinery to drill sites. Drunken driving arrests are way up, and police report seizures of uncommon illicit drugs.

“Heroin is starting to come back. The drug activity has really changed in this region,” said Doug Colombik, the Miles City police chief.

Crime increases

Cops on the beat feel a difference, too.

“The level of aggression that we’re met with when we’re responding (to a call) has really increased,” Mark Kraft, 33, a night officer for the Sidney Police Department, said during a ride-along with a McClatchy reporter. “It makes our job a little more dangerous than it was a couple of years ago.”

The big wakeup call came in early January, when schoolteacher Sherry Arnold went for a morning jog in Sidney and never returned.

Her remains were found months later across the state line near Williston. Police said the 43-year-old cancer survivor was kidnapped and killed. Two Colorado men who came to the area in search of work in the oilfields are charged in her gruesome death.

Arnold’s slaying brought soul searching over the costs of a transformative oil boom. Almost to a person, everyone interviewed in the region complained they no longer recognize people in the grocery store, and that they now must lock their doors. A large town here is home to fewer than 6,000 people, and leaving doors unlocked and keys in the car is the very definition of small-town life.

“I think whenever you don’t know people, you become suspicious of them. You just have to remember that not all strangers are bad,” said Maj. Robert Burnison, Sidney’s assistant police chief. “I tell people that, and to be aware of their surroundings . . . just be cautious. You don’t have to be afraid.”

Burnison recently counted 17 out-of-state license plates in the local grocer’s parking lot. This flood of new American workers, dubbed “patch rats” by locals, is also clogging up the criminal justice system in eastern Montana, he and others said.

“We average about a DUI a day now,” said Judge Gregory P. Mohr, a city judge in Sidney, whose office is strained by mounting demands and no comparable increase in revenues. “All of the oil money goes west (to the state capital), but we need it here.”

Montana has a “three strikes” policy, meaning a fourth drunken driving arrest is treated as a felony charge and conviction results in a 13-month prison sentence. Many of the arrested have strikes in other states, and Montana’s policy counts them.

“We’re up in felonies all over the place here. What we’re seeing is a lot of out-of-state (resident) felonies. These are extraordinarily taxing to our system,” said Sheila M. Newman, the deputy public defender in Miles City, who now spends much of her time researching the laws of other states. “I’d like to have another full-time employee, but the legislature says the public defender system is maxed out.”

It all explains concern that eastern Montana will inevitably resemble Williston, which earlier this year was named by the Census Bureau as the fastest-growing micro area of the nation between April 2010 and July 2011. Roadside businesses tied to the industry dot both sides of the highway for seven miles out of town.

Oil workers are young men paid handsome sums. There’s little to do in small rural towns with those sums but frivol it away on alcohol and electronic casinos. Some workers dispose of their earnings at Whispers, one of Williston’s two seedy strip bars.

There, young men slug down liquor, drop loud F-bombs and jostle over billiards. Some disappear with dancers into rooms guarded by burly, tattooed, pierced men who work in the club.

For many workers coming to the Bakken region, they quickly find they can’t afford to live here.

“The city is being terribly saturated with individuals looking for work,” said Cal Westerhof, a missionary from Dallas whose Fellowship Baptist Church in Sidney offers free showers, food donations and low-cost rentals for displaced workers.

Skyrocketing rents

Rents have more than doubled all over the oil region. People rent out basements, rooms and even their front yards for trailers. Makeshift RV parks have cropped up everywhere and charge $400 a week or more. That’s about what an apartment rented for monthly before the boom began.

“Even with a good-paying job, how do you afford to pay the rent? Groceries have gone horribly high . . . living on a daily basis here is high,” said Candy Markwald, who helps run the Richland County Food Bank in Sidney.

For Brant Powell, 23, rent isn’t an option. He came up from Bozeman earlier this year and landed a job driving a truck that hauls sand used in the oil drilling process. He’s forced to live in his truck, unable to afford the high rent.

In between attempts to woo a barmaid at the Cattle-Ac, known to Sidney police for its oil-worker brawls, Powell scarfed down dinner and admitted that he’s had about enough of the oil patch.

“It’s just rough. You don’t know anybody here, you don’t feel at home,” he said. “It’s dirty. But people do a lot for money.”

Building boom

Apartments and condos are under rush construction on the outskirts of Sidney, but they’ll rent for $2,000 a month and upward, a price tag for supervisors and managers. It means workers like Powell coming to the oil patch are likely to keep improvising.

“Holy smokes, if you want it bad enough, you’ll find a ranch, a basement, a backyard,” said Wally Jungels, a roofer from Miles City whose company paid for three workers to share a small trailer next to Sidney’s Pizza Hut. “If you’re not making $15 an hour, you can’t live here.”

It’s so bad that an area manager for a major national fast-food chain confides he’s forced to bring in foreigners on student visas just to man the cash registers.

“I advertised at $10 an hour and got no response,” said the manager, who demanded anonymity because his well-known chain doesn’t want to broadcast that it brings in college kids on student visas for three-month stints.

September marks the start of his staffing problems. Summer has ended north of equator, and the Russian, Ukrainian and Macedonian students have returned to their universities. It won’t be until December that summer vacation begins south of the equator. At that point, the manager can bring in students from Brazil, Peru and elsewhere.

With so few rental options, the fast-food chain bought three trailers to house its visiting guest workers.

Kim Trangmoe, executive director of the Glendive Chamber of Commerce, points to a 10-acre parcel of land that just a few years ago sold for $10,000. It’s up for sale again, listed at over $300,000.

“It really hurts our essential workers — firefighters, teachers and the like. Their paychecks are not going up with the rent,” said Trangmoe, noting that the local sheriff had to purchase a home for use as temporary living quarters for patrol officers. “I think our biggest struggle is housing for renters.”

The town’s mayor agrees.

“We’re seeing landlords increasing rent to the point that a lot of local people who’ve lived here all their lives are feeling the pinch,” said Jerry Jimison, adding that new construction hasn’t kept pace. “We’ve never had homeless people in Glendive . . . there are some of them living in tents, sleeping in parks. It’s not hundreds and hundreds, but there are more stragglers showing up with no place to live.”

The Department of Transportation office in Williston sent Gary Skarphol to visit North Dakota Highway 23 by New Town after a series of vehicles had been severely damaged by the deteriorating road.

In the Spring of 2012, I was heading up to Minot for the Sportsmen show and encountered the worst roads I had encountered in the years I have been driving. The signage for the bad roads was not visible and the truck traffic was flying past at very high rate of speed. After about 2 miles of the bad road my car was rendered disabled by a combination of road and semi vs guard rail.

I count myself lucky for making it to Eagles Landing and having Lyle the taxi guy bring me to Minot. The cost of the tow to Stanley and Taxi was enough to make me think I need four jobs to live in oil country. If you break down in New Town there are no open hotels and Rensch’s Chevrolet dealership won’t tow or work on your car if it is a Ford. I would assume it is because of the lack of available employees to work on vehicles, but you would think they would at least help remove disabled vehicles.

This section of Hwy 23 was finished the end of November 2011 but looks in worse shape then the section of old Hwy 10 by Medora that have not been touched in years. Bemas Construction out of Englewood, Colo., did the work but they had no comment on the condition of the roadway.

There is a bond that they had to have for doing the road so anyone that has lost a wheel or u joint or oil and transmission pan might want to take photos to ensure they get those forms to their insurance carrier.

In visiting with the DOT office in Williston, Ron Skarphol said that he has never seen roads this bad in the 39 years he has worked for the state. He stated that contributing factors included, but were not limited to pavement, climate, patching over patches and the frost coming out of the ground. One other thing that shocked me is that a huge oil company called to complain on 911 that they needed to remove the highway workers from the roads because they were impeding production on the highway.

I am shocked that production to some companies is more important than safe roads. There are some great oil companies that seem to really care about the communities that they work in. I would count those as Key Energy, Bull Dog Energy, Custom Carbon and Western Pump and Dredge.

Now, if the other companies would pull together to stop production for a day or two to fix these messed up highways perhaps the locals and travelers could get from point A to B with out losing their wheels beneath them.

For many people, art is considered just a hobby. Painting is something you do on a lazy Sunday afternoon while drinking a delicious cup of espresso and calmly looking back on your workweek (which is almost a myth in itself, as very few people have ever had the time to do this). The fact is though, art is so much more than previously thought, and here are just a few examples why:

1.) Art facilitates communication. Art is not a math problem, meaning there is no right or wrong answer. No one argues with you if you prefer one painting to another. Sure, they may ask why, and then voice their own opinion, but yours is not discounted in the process. Because of this, people are naturally more apt to openly communicate in an artistic forum.

What’s more, the act of communicating itself is like a flood gate, meaning open communication about one thing often leads to open communication about another.

2.) Art facilitates self-expression. Ever heard the phrase, “A picture is worth 1,000 words,”? Of course you have, and for good reason. Some things are just too difficult to explain, but a picture can make it all seem clear. Here’s a great example:

If you’ve ever seen the music video for Foo Fighter’s song “Best of You”, you can see there is an incredible mashup of emotion. The video shows pictures and words symbolizing such emotions and concepts as fear, anger, hopelessness, sorrow, innocence, regret and beauty. What you might not know, however, is that the director, Mark Pellington, was allowed complete creative freedom by the band as a way of coping with his wife’s death. The resulting video is basically a blueprint of his grief, set to the soundtrack of the band’s song “Best of You.” It’s riveting, and you can see it here.

3.) Art encourages tolerance. It is impossible to judge in a roomful of art. You may not like a particular sculpture, but you have no idea as to who made it. A beautiful painting can be made by anyone, whether they are black, white, gay, straight, developmentally impaired, old, young, republican, or democrat. In the world of art, we are all equals.

4.) Art facilitates team building. Working on a group project at work can often be deceptive. If each member of the group breaks off into individual jobs, they may not actually feel like they are part of a collaborative effort. A group painting, however, is instantly collaborative. Just by looking at it, you can see the individual brush strokes, and if the people in the group had been changed, the brush strokes (and the entire painting itself) would be a different final result. Collaborative art projects team members to work together in an environment where their contribution is noticeable and immediate.

5.) Art is fun. Not often enough are we able to do something that we actually enjoy, and especially something that is crucial to the development of specific skill sets. Add a little art in your life and see how it will most certainly change you for the better.

“The more fracking the more traffic” Leslie Messer, Economic Development Director for the City of Sidney, told members of the Big Sky Economic Development tour group. Sidney is just a few miles from the North Dakota border, but still very much in the heart of the oil field action. Confronted with impossible demands on their infrastructure this much smaller city faces most of the same problems as Williston, North Dakota.

Sidney’s biggest problem at the moment is that its sewer lagoon has failed. They have shut access off to RV’s, and are now studying what is going to have to be done to address the problem.

The city’s garbage output reached 23,000 tons in 2011. The landfill the county built thinking it would last 15 years, is already in need of replacement.

The city’s DUI (driving under the influence) citations are 65 percent higher—an indication of the new demands placed on law enforcement. The schools are going out for voter approval of increased levies to build more classrooms, to deal with a 30 percent increase in enrollment.

There has been a 65 percent increase in emergency room visits at the local hospital.

Use of Sidney’s quiet library has jumped to 190 people a day, as new residents file in to use the computers, in the attempt to get information and keep in touch.

“We have a lot more social issues, we weren’t prepared for,” said Messer.

Messer pointed out that while the wages are high – an average of $82,000 annually in Richland County – people are working very hard to get those wages—16 hour days are typical. “It’s not an eight to five job,” she said.

The opportunity to make such incomes however makes it difficult for businesses like McDonald’s in Sidney. Unable to hire the number of employees they need, they closed their lobby and use only the drive-thru. At times orders are taken by some distant employee working via satellite.

There are three grocery stores in the county, and each reported that their sales have increased 85 percent. “They struggle to keep commodities on the shelves,” said Messer.

Most of the roads in Richland County are basic farm –to-market roads, never built for the kind of traffic that is now using them. Each well site will require 2200 truckloads of material. “The heavy trucks are punching holes in the roads.” Paving needs are greater than the county’s budget allows. Messer said that road conditions go to the extremes from being wet and muddy and almost impassable, to dry and dusty. The oil industry “doesn’t stop,” she said, and they do “step up and fix the roads.”

Continental Resources, as a case in point, builds and repairs the roads they need, and then turn them over to the county for maintenance.

“We continue to nurture our relationship with the companies,” said Messer. Their response is better than that from the state. Simple things take forever from the state government. A year ago, on a similar tour to the Bakken, Sidney officials pointed out how overwhelmed the local motor vehicle department was in attempting to issue CDL licenses to truck drivers. In order to facilitate the process, employers would haul groups to Billings to take the tests and get licensed, consuming greater time and resources.

A representative of the Governor’s office was on that tour and vowed to direct attention to the problem. The DVM finally sent an additional person to staff the local office in March of this year – not as “immediate” as Messer would have hoped.

Another seemingly minor problem, which makes a big difference, is that state employees can’t afford to stay over in Sidney. Their per diem allowance is not high enough. It’s a problem, among many, that Messer hopes the next state legislature will address.

Entrepreneurs come with ideas, that sometimes don’t work out. Messer pointed out that a Billings couple, seeing that truckers had trouble finding places to park, built a truck park in Sidney. But, it turns out that truckers don’t want to have to pay to park their trucks, so business was dismal. They are now trying to redirect their facility into serving RV’s.

Housing is of course the biggest problem. There are essentially no homes available for occupancy in Sidney, neither to rent or buy. The average rental is $1500, but can range as high as $2500, depending on the number of bedrooms. A home that used to sell for $75,000 is now selling for $275,000 – but there are none for sale.

Land that used to sell for $8,000 an acre, now goes for $25,000 to $55,000.

There are 1700 RVs in Sidney. There are seven new subdivisions being planned. Some people spent the winter in tents, only possible because it was a mild winter. “Their life is hanging on by prayer,” said Messer.

Officials discovered that the best way to communicate with these residents regarding health and safety issues, is to attach flyers to canisters of propane available for purchase. Everyone uses propane. They have asked the residents to give their cell phone numbers on an emergency call list, in order to help warn people of pending storms or other issues.

Two new hotels were opened and a third very near to opening. There are no vacancies.

For all their problems, Messer said she agrees with those who say “the best year are ahead of us.” Every well in operation creates three permanent jobs, for the long term.

R.L. (Bud) Andersen, spokesman for TransCanada, informed members of Montana Association of Oil, Gas, & Coal Counties, Inc. last week in Lewistown, MT that the Calgary based pipeline giant has divided the Keystone XL in two and is moving forward with the $2.3 Billion proposed pipeline running from Cushing, Oklahoma to Nederland, Texas; projected an in service date in late 2013.

On Friday, June 15^th, the US State Department filed plans to prepare a new supplemental environmental impact statement for TransCanada Corp’s Keystone XL pipeline.  The State Department plans to make its decision on the Keystone XL by the first quarter of 2013.  Russ Girling, TransCanada’s CEO remarked, “The fact the Department of State has reaffirmed its timeline for making a decision on a Presidential Permit for Keystone XL early next year is an important development.”

The proposed $7.1 Billion, 1,700 mile project will deliver an initial capacity of 830,000 barrels per day of Canadian oil sands crude to Gulf Coast refineries.  Construction is slated to begin first quarter of 2013, with an estimated completion date of late 2014 or early 2015.

After a lengthy public comment and review process, President Obama rejected the TransCanada crude transportation system on January 18^th stated that he couldn’t make a decision under the tight, “politically motivated” time frame set by Republicans in Congress.  Since rejection, the company has proposed a number of differing routes through Nebraska, bypassing the environmentally sensitive areas.  Nebraska’s Sand Hills was a major sticking point for environmentalists on the pipeline project.

By the time a final decision is reached in early 2013, the Keystone XL will be well into

its 5th year of studies.  According to Girling, this has been “the most extensive review for a cross-border pipeline ever.”  It’s TransCanada’s position that the final review should focus solely on the realigned route that avoids the controversial Nebraska Sandhills.  Girling further commented, “The rest of the Keystone XL route remains the same. The geology of the route remains the same. The environmental conditions remain the same. Nothing else has changed since the FEIS was approved.”

Phillips’ plans were revealed last week by CEO Greg Garland at the Citi Global Energy Conference this past week.  According to Garland, “We’re considering buying a couple thousand more rail cars so we can get Bakken crude either east or west”.  Phillips 66 has refineries on the East, West, and Gulf coats. The company currently refines about 100,000 BPD of shale crude; with a goal of @ 500,000 BPD of shale production.  With the purchase of rail units, Phillips’ initial goal is to increase delivery of shale crude to its’ refineries from 100,000 BPD to 150,000 BPD within the next two years.  A typical rail car tanker capacity is 32,000 gallons (750 BBLs of crude), so the proposed purchase of 2,000 tank cars would translate to @ 100,000 BPD of additional capacity.

Oil field proliferation through US shale plays such as the Bakken, Eagle Ford, Niobrara and Permian have forced the transporters to turn to rail, trucks, even barges to haul crude due to pipeline development delay.  It’s Garland’s belief that, ”the E&P side will develop faster than infrastructure to take it away over the next five to 10 years”, so the acquisition of 2,000 tank rail cards appears to be a “good investment” with a relatively “quick payback”.

Marketplace challenges, obstacles and hurdles continue in the Bakken as the momentum to drill taxes infrastructure on all levels: 

WILLISTON, N.D. – Senator John Hoeven (R-N.D.) today hosted Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) for a visit to Western North Dakota’s oil patch to show how the state is advancing oil and gas development in the region, as well as to underscore the community’s infrastructure needs. Hoeven said he wants to enlist her support for continued energy development and to address the infrastructure challenges communities are facing as a result.

“North Dakota has created a dynamic energy industry across all sectors by building a business climate that draws investment from around the country and around the world,” Hoeven said. “We’re creating jobs and growing our economy with good policy and the nation can, too. We need to work in a bipartisan way to advance that kind of energy policy for our country and ensure that we’re building the kind of infrastructure that will result in greater national energy security, a growing economy and more jobs. We also need to make more supply available to help reduce fuel prices at the pump for American consumers. I’m pleased to have Senator Klobuchar here in oil country today.”

“The strength of our nation is tied to the strength of our energy economy,” Klobuchar said. “It is great to see the work North Dakota is doing to promote the production of domestic fuels. Now is the time for us to increase domestic production of energy and focus on the homegrown energy solutions that will not only give consumers relief at pump; they will strengthen our economy and decrease our dependence on foreign oil.”

Hoeven and Klobuchar are sponsoring the bipartisan Domestic Fuels Act of 2012. The Domestic Fuels Act takes a market-based, no-cost approach, driven by supply and demand, to make it easier to market all fuels and give consumers more choice at the pump.

• Williston Ground Tour: The senators began the visit with a ground tour of Williston, which is now the fastest growing small metropolitan area in the country, according to new census estimates. The tour underscored the rapid growth of the city and the infrastructure needs growth is generating, including roads, housing, sewer, and transmission lines. To illustrate the demand for housing, the ground tour segment concluded with a stop at Williston Garden Apartments, a new 145 unit housing complex. The first of the four buildings in the complex was completed on April 1, and was fully occupied the first day units became available.
• Oil Rig Review and Horizontal Drilling Demonstration: The ground tour was followed by a demonstration at an oil rig operated by Nomac 316, a subsidiary of Statoil, Norway’s largest petroleum company. The stop also featured a demonstration of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing by Kathleen Neset, a geologist who manages geological service crews throughout the Bakken and Northern Rockies region.
• Hess Corporation Tour: The senators concluded the day’s events with a visit to the Hess Corporation’s natural gas processing facility in Tioga, which is developing new technologies the company believes, will increase production in the Bakken and may be applicable elsewhere in the world. Hess is the third largest oil producer and the largest natural gas producer in the state.

Total production in North Dakota’s oil patch has more than doubled in the past two years, according to the state’s Division of Mineral Resources. The state is now the third largest oil and gas producing state in the country.

Source:  Press Release on 4/20/2012 from Senator John Hoeven (D-ND)

Source: Bloomber, Matthew Staver

The answer, “1,012″ ! 

Okay – where’s the punch line ? Well (no pun intended) there isn’t one. The answer really is “1,012″ truck loads.  And that’s just one way !

• 80 truckloads of sand
• 400 truckloads of fresh water
• 200 truckloads of waste water
• 100 truckloads of Frac tanks
• 50 truckloads of rig equipment
• 50 truckloads of drilling mud
• 4 truckloads of chemicals
• 15 truckloads of cement
• 10 truckloads of pipe
• 80 truckloads of scoria/gravel
• 7 truckloads of fuel
• 15 truckloads of Frac/Cement pumper trucks
• 1 truckload – work-over rigs

Put that level of commercial, oil industry truck traffic on the existing road system in western North Dakota and its easy to see why communities are straining under the weight of bringing Bakken to market.  Roadway demand will continue to grow as the North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources estimates that more than 20,000 new oil wells could be drilled in Western North Dakota over the next 20 years.

According to a January 2011 article in Bloomberg Businessweek, “roads battered by heavy truck traffic in western North Dakota’s oil country are already hampering development and driving up shipping costs”.  North Dakota transportation analysts estimate that it will cost at least $907 million over the next 20 years to rebuild or maintain roads that are essential to carrying oil industry traffic in 17 counties.  Factoring in an annual inflation rate of 5%  into road construction costs, and that could translate to @ $1.3 billion.

2011 reports estimated that over 68 miles of paved roads utilized heavily by the oil industry were in poor or very poor condition; and that 334 miles were considered to be in fair condition, but were in jeopardy of rapid deterioration from heavy over use.  Without aggressive repair and maintenance, the oil industry could become further constrained in terms of transportation distribution and logistical costs.

In direct response to this impending need, state agencies set out to address the very real transporation infrastructure concerns in 14 western North Dakota communities with a series of on site meetings with local leaders in order to gain their perspective, update them on the status of the state’s progress, address safety concerns due to traffic congestion, and collaborate on planning throughout the region.

Near future plans are to create truck reliever routes or bypasses to assist in moving truck traffic out of  city centers; thereby alleviating traffic congestion.  It’s the ND Department of Transportation (NDDOT) to intent to expedite truck reliever routes, currently planned, for the most impacted cities.

For indepth details click and go to page 2 of  the report issued by the state of North Dakota – Tour Findings and State Response.

The DOT did ask for comments as they had a new proposition to restrict cell phone usage to CMV drivers.  Don’t complain about new regulations unless you are willing to be a part of the process. The FMCSA site tells you all where to post your comments so that you and your feelings can be taken into account. Although it can be tedious to read through all the jargon, it is your responsibility to take the time and search out what can affect you in the future.

If you go to the FMCSA site you will see Rules and Regulations at the top banner, click on that. To your left you will see below: Click on proposed rules to find out what is in the proposal stage.

Rule-makings and notices

Final Rules

Interim Rules

Interim Final Rules

Proposed Rules

Notices

This site is for you, be proactive! We all hear a lot of whining over the Cb of the DOT and it’s rules. I guess what I would say is that it is their job to try and keep people safe, especially for those who are renegades and don’t care about the laws…..Well…..somebody has to care….and if it’s not you, who will it be?

Oh by the way! This was a no brainer! Duh!

As a child, if you stepped on a crack it could break someone’s back! I spent my childhood jumping over cracks on the sidewalks to school everyday!

I’ve also heard on my almost 55 years on this earth,  (and yes I feel lucky to see 55)……. Oh I am just soooo unlucky in love….uh…maybe you have just made bad choices over and over again in relationships…what’s that got to do with luck? What’s the common denominator?

We’ve heard that bad luck comes in three’s! I have always liked the number 3 and never understood why such a good looking number would be equated to bad luck. Personally I would think 4 would be unlucky, it just doesn’t flow as nice as three. Course having three children might be considered bad luck for the middle child, who is neither the baby or the oldest (I’m a middle child).

I’ve listened to drivers on the CB complaining about how their run of bad luck got them 3 speeding tickets in the last year. I met a driver that had 3 accidents in one year. I’ve seen on television people with 3 DUI’s in one year. Those same drivers are the ones calling out the location of the Highway patrol or DOT officers to all the other drivers, of course it’s because he didn’t want them to have the same bad luck as he has had.

I had a boss (for a very short time) that came in every day like hell on wheels (that kept spinning) never taking the time to say good morning, offer a smile, but walked in the door barking! Where’s this? Who did that? Why isn’t this done? and as a result everyone around him kept spinning wheels like on a sheet of ice, never getting anywhere because they were so nervous they would be the next in line to have their egos bruised over something they had no control over, or it wasn’t done correctly (even though they had never been given sufficient training on what they were to do, always fragmented pieces thrown at them, not the full picture). My co-workers eyes meeting every time he walked in the room, as if to say, yeah I’m with you, consoling before the tyranny began. We never heard, hey you did a good job, or I appreciate you. Ok! I’m not a wussy girl! But holy cats! People need a kudos on occasion to make it feel like your not going to crash through the ice. This boss couldn’t recognize the common denominator. Always complaining that nothing was done his way, nothing was going right…..guess what….the common denominator was him.

We’ve all heard this:

Sooooo if you speed every time you get behind the wheel, is that bad luck? What is the common denominator, is that officer following you around waiting for you to speed? The driver that had 3 accidents in one year, bad luck, wrong place wrong time? What’s the common denominator?

Changing the common denominator:

It’s simply called taking responsibility! No, not just saying well I take responsibility for it…..You have to work at it! Meaning! Changing the behavior! Duh! Words without action doesn’t work! It’s just mindless words falling out of your mouth. Action please!!!

•  You can make changes yourself
•  You are not always right
•  You don’t know it all!
•  You can choose how you feel
•  You can make a difference
•  You are the only one that you can control
•  You have to say I’m sorry on occasion
• You have to slow down when it’s icy!
• You have to follow the speed limit!
• There are so many have to’s,  to not have bad luck!

Whats the common denominator in all those statements? Well if you don’t know by now, guess you don’t have your listening ears on….that’s ok, some of us take longer……..

OK! Speed and space management….I prefer the bubble.

What the heck does that mean?

Talking about the space around you and how and why to maintain it. It is so easy to get caught up in what’s going on around you and forget to maintain that bubble! Don’t forget!

After doing a lot of research I found a great handbook on line that has great charts for your speed and space management.

Sometimes it’s a good idea to brush up on the facts, as we get caught up in getting that load there and forget the basics.

According to a recent survey of 1,024 drivers, more than 10% admitted to falling asleep at the wheel and another 20% say they momentarily dozed off while driving. The only safe way to fix the problem…..pull over and sleep! Then we come to the other problem…..finding a place to do that. First of all if you are taking your ten and not in sitting in the truckers lounge sharing lies, or playing hours of video games…then you should be sleeping! It’s not an easy task to do all the right things when you are out on the road. But sleeping should be at the top of your list. How would you like if the bus driver that takes your children to school decided not to sleep the night before?

If you have sleeping problems it’s better to have it checked out at the doctor instead of letting it get so bad you kill yourself….or others. That’s all part of being a responsible driver. You could possibly have sleep apnea and not even know it. That is a debilitating disorder.

From Wikipedia: sleep apnea is a sleep disorder characterized by abnormal pauses in breathing or instances of abnormally low breathing, during sleep. Each pause in breathing, called an apnea, can last from a few seconds to minutes, and may occur 5 to 30 times or more an hour. Sleep apnea is diagnosed with an overnight sleep test called a or “sleep study”.

Regardless of type, an individual with sleep apnea is rarely aware of having difficulty breathing, even upon awakening.  Sleep apnea is recognized as a problem by others witnessing the individual during episodes or is suspected because of its effects on the body. Symptoms may be present for years (or even decades) without identification, during which time the sufferer may become conditioned to the daytime sleepiness and fatigue associated with significant levels of sleep disturbance. There are several treatments available, depending on what type you have.

Then we get to the other problem…..where to park. As we all know truck stops are not the most quiet places. I only used them when nothing else was available. But that goes to planning your trip. I had my handy dandy computer and would get on mapquest pull up the areal on where I was was to deliver. You can see if there is available parking where your delivering. I also liked staying at rest stops where it was allowed. Pilot also carries a small handbook for about 6 bucks that has all the truck stops listed by state and route, listing how big the stop is, as well as it’s amenities. After you’ve crossed the country a few times you find the best spots for you (unless in North Dakota, then take what you get!)

Give yourself a break driver! Yours and everybody else’s life depends on it!

Halloween 1978, I-84 Westbound, in Oregon, two young men were traveling from the Dallas after doing a roofing job. The end of their day, they were headed back to family and loved ones who were busy preparing for a Halloween bash. They had left Portland early that morning and were ready to share an evening of fun. One was 18 years old, quiet young man, hard worker, he was driving. The other 23, guitar player, gentle soul, puppy dog eyes, dark and mysterious. He was to marry in December, about six weeks away.

Also Westbound was a flat bedder. He had to stop and check his strapping as all truckers know it’s a regulation. Unfortunately like many places the exits and shoulders are not trucker friendly and he did his best to pull off the shoulder, the metal rails to his right separating himself from the Columbia River.

It was about 3:30 in the afternoon when the two young men spotted the trucker up ahead and could not get into the left lane, traffic was headed to Portland for the Halloween Holiday, people dressed in strange costumes would fill the downtown streets later that night.

The right front corner of the pickup hit the rear corner of the trailer. The truck endoed, the 23 year old going out the front windshield, no, there was no seat belt on. As he went through, hit the right side of his head and almost severed completely his right arm off. The younger driver, after the truck came to a stop, ran back to find his friend dead.

That night, there was no celebration, as the family gathered and watched on television the accident, the photos of the young man that had died. Numb and so surrealistic, couldn’t be real…..but it was. The young bride to be was changed at that moment, a change not understood, but definitely a defining moment, one that changed her whole view on life. And over 30 years later it stuck….I was the bride to be…..and that’s why I truly care.

Safety is not something to be taken lightly….it takes one second to change many peoples lives forever. When I was behind the wheel, tired and having irresponsible drivers tick me off, road rage teetering, I always tried to remember….the other person is someone’s wife, husband, mother, father, child, and I had to be responsible with that 80,000 pound torpedo under my rear end. It was my responsibility to get enough rest, to eat right, to make mature choices. To not take my eyes off the road. To know what was around me at all times. To not over drive my ability. To shut er down when needed be…It was all on me….Don’t be a part of the problem. Drive responsibly….You don’t want to be a part of the statistics below….every single one of those numbers is or was a human being that were affected by choices….Make the right choice.

According to “Semi Truck Accidents”, NEW YORK, Feb. 22, 2011 /PRNewswire/ In 2010 over 500,000 Large Truck and Commercial Vehicles were involved in accidents; with over 100,000 people sustaining serious injuries, and over 5,000 people dying in these crashes.  This was compared to only 3,200 deaths involving large trucks in 2009, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

The one that kept jumping into my reflections was Kojak in Overalls (with a blue tooth) This man was my trainer for the my first trucking job.

Sitting in the terminal, all the hustle and bustle, waiting to meet my trainer. The one I would be trusting my life with, to spend six short weeks to teach me everything he knew (course that didn’t happen, six weeks is too short!). I was told his truck number and to go look for that Freightliner in the yard, which I obediently did, finding it, I climbed up on the side and banged on the door. Waited a minute, and banged again. Climbed back down, and waited. A few minutes later out climbed Kojak in overalls sporting a blue tooth, obviously just waking, I introduced myself as his new trainee. This was our beginning.

I followed him through the terminal to the dispatch office to get our paperwork, not talking much as I was nervous as all get out. But he just kept talking with that Texas Southern Drawl, which helped calm me. Soon I began talking and we headed out with the load. He drove through Dallas, stopped on the outskirts to give me the truck, wrote with a grease pen on the windshield the route we would be taking, climbed into the back, drew the curtains, and there I was! Sitting alone in the front of the cab! Alone! I couldn’t believe it! Alone! Thinking to myself this guy is whacked! So I pulled out, got on the highway and headed down the road. A few miles ahead, my trailer crossed the fog line and hit the bumps and I heard him holler, you just ran over a family broke down on the side of the road! Keep it between the lines! Ok….I wasn’t alone.

When the six weeks were over I got my own truck.  On my first load out, realized after going 100 miles, I really was alone. I got on the cell and called him! And, for those first several weeks alone, I could call and count on him to talk me through whatever situation I had gotten myself into…

Although the  six weeks, at times seemed to drag on, there was not a moment that my trainer wasn’t teaching me. In this blog I can’t begin to convey all the things he taught me, but each and every lesson was well taken.  I understood that this trucker knew what he was doing and took great pride in helping every trainee that climbed on his truck.  He was a good man with a heart of gold.  He loved his wife and children with such passion.  You couldn’t help but adore him. The laughter and the lessons shared, I just want to take one small moment in time to say….Thank you Larry !

…and thank you to all of you that take the time to train, you are worth your weight in gold! To all those who are currently in the Bakken learning a new skill, driving a rig “off road” for the first time, learning how to frac, coil, cement, and not blow yourselves up on the wire line; pause for a moment as you begin the new year and thank the person coaching and mentoring you – your very own Kojak in overalls.  It is these dedicated, career oil patch veterans that are gifting you of their time and effort as we all bring Bakken to market.

Happy New Year !

© JJ Arnet

……and you’re exhausted because the night before you pulled into another truck stop closer to your destination, but were kept up all night by the continual knocks on your door offering services that you surely won’t utilize or even desire….you’re so disgruntled that you leave, even though you’ve been sick for the last three days and want nothing more than to climb into that bed; hoping that a reefer doesn’t park next to you and have that constant “waaaa waaaa waaaa” disturb your much needed slumber….all night long!

In the back of your mind as you drive down that dark lonely road (in North Dakota – what road?) trying to find the address of this place, that you’ve never been to before, you’re angry with yourself for accepting the load in the first place. Accepted….like you had a choice since you work for a forced dispatch company, where the word accepted really isn’t a part of the equation, and ya knew it was going to be tight within your Hours of Service…….

You finally see it! The name of the company! Yay! You’re there! Pulling into the driveway, making sure you don’t cut the turn too close as you don’t wanna hit that tire on that curb, so ya lose your seal (and have to sit with your head hung down in shame, feeling like the green horn that you are, as they fix that tire and cringe as you look at the dent in the wheel…..another story….). You call on the intercom, they buzz you in with what dock to bump and alas it’s almost over.

Your mind keeps wandering, but always checking that clock! Am I going to make it? They won’t let you stay there, there’s no place to park on nearby roads, you’re gonna have to drive that XX miles….. JEEZ hurry up and get this load off!

Finally, snuggling down in your bed, the humming of your truck lulling you to sleep, knowing you can finally get the beauty rest you definitely need (Yeah I’m a girl). You’ve been runnin’ hard and it’s time for your 34. Almost gone, you hear a loud beep, slowly get up, roll down your window, take that qualcomm and stick it out into the hot sticky air as the sun comes up, roll the window back up, crawl back in the bed……..And let the world go about its business…….easier said than done!

So are these Hours of Service Regulations keeping us from making money or keeping us safe?

So many regulations, Why why Why? Let’s talk…

© JJ Arnett

Winter’s Here !

As winter approaches arrives, and the inevitable bad weather driving conditions fall down upon you, have you made your winter checklist?

Before you start your day….

• Make sure you clean off the windshield and all the windows and mirrors.
• Clean off the headlights, tail lights, stop lights and turn signals. You want to be able to see, as well as have others see you!
• Make sure your defroster is good working order.
• Have blankets to keep you warm in case of a break down.
• Carry extra food! I sat in a Pennsylvania yard for 3 days before I could move..thank goodness I’d hit Walmart the week before. They have all kinds of foods that you can buy already cooked in pouches. I also carry kitty litter for those fuel island spills, slicker than all get out!
• Check with your Carrier to see what kind of fuel treatment they use; you don’t want gelling.
• Always keep your fuel tanks full! You don’t want any condensation.

Keep the “bubble” around you on the road. That simply means leave plenty of space around your truck, should something happen you have a better chance of a bail out if need be, or not sliding into the rig in front of you.

And by all means: SLOW DOWN! Don’t use your cruise control or jake.

At least once a day drain your air tanks.

And if you can, look on the internet for weather conditions, keep yourself updated, by listening on your CB or radio.

I was surprised to see that North Dakota has no chain laws (huh, maybe why I’ve seen so many pictures of big rigs off in the ditch!)

If you can, call North Dakota Road Conditions : @ 511 or 866-696-3511

Anyone else have tips?

© JJ Arnett

Havest Hills Development Williston, North Dakota

The one fact about real estate that never changes is that they don’t make any more of it.  You can
take a big piece and cut it into a bunch of small pieces to make it go further or you can take a piece and develop it to make it produce more, but you can’t make any more of it.  Where it is located
has a huge impact on its value.

The term “location-location-location” is commonly  used by real estate professionals to describe the three most important factors  when determining the desirability of a piece of real estate.  Identical homes in different locations can  have dramatic differences in value.   Proximity to schools, transportation, health care, shopping, recreation, entertainment, jobs, views have a positive impact on the values of real estate.  Negative impacts to real estate values can be caused by proximity to commercial/industrial areas, near railroads, freeways or under flight paths, crime ridden neighborhoods, economically depressed areas or close to hazards.

A real estate strategy that savvy investors have used successfully through the years is to invest in the “Path of Progress.”  Key areas where cities or towns are expanding or are redeveloping with infill or renewal projects can offer outstanding profit potential. Addition of new infrastructure, roads, bridges, accessibility or convenience can add value to stagnant areas and new life to profit
potential.

Vision, knowledge and timing are keys.  To be able to see the where change is going to take place and the possibilities it offers, to know the details of what is going to happen and the time frame and to know when and where to act.  If you are a developer, getting in when the values are low is a key factor in a successful project.  If you are a business owner or investor, going to where the action is and will continue to be is good for long term growth, stability and resale value.  If you are a home buyer, investing in the path of progress will increase your chances of making a solid real estate purchase because of the market demand that is created and maintained because of the location.  Some people call this Luck, but as Roman Philosopher, Seneca said: “Luck is when Opportunity Meets Preparation.”

So the replay, “how many truckloads does it take to develop an oil well in North Dakota?” The answer, “1,012″.  Okay – where’s the punch line ?  Well (no pun intended) there isn’t one.  The answer really is “1,012″ truck loads.  No doubt that a oil well site under development is a hub of activity, but just how much truck traffic does it take to……?

• 80 truckloads of sand
• 400 truckloads of fresh water
• 200 truckloads of waste water
• 100 truckloads of Frac tanks
• 50 truckloads of rig equipment
• 50 truckloads of drilling mud
• 4 truckloads of chemicals
• 15 truckloads of cement
• 10 truckloads of pipe
• 80 truckloads of scoria/gravel
• 7 truckloads of fuel
• 15 truckloads of Frac/Cement pumper trucks
• 1 truckload – workover rigs

I’m waiting for, “and a partridge in a pear tree”!

If, the number of “1,012″ isn’t daunting enough – that’s “1,012″ truckloads into a site, and “1,012″ truckloads back out.

While estimates vary on the level of recoverable reserves, studies conducted by the North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources in 2008 and in 2010 reflect the potential of  4.0-6.3 billion barrels of recoverable reserves in the Bakken and Three Forks formations alone.  Experts predict at least another ten to twenty years of intense drilling and development; followed by several more decades of petroleum production with the current estimated resource base.

With over a billion dollars of completed or planned oil transportation expansions, North Dakota is positioning itself for continued successful oil and natural gas development.  Through out of the box thinking, the state’s use of pipeline and rail transportation to move production to the refineries in Louisiana and Texas has helped to alleviate some of the challenges that have plagued the movement of crude out of the Williston Basin; at least for the near term.  However, with ever increasing technological efficiencies in drilling and completion, the current debate centers around just how high oil production in the Basin will rise.  Thus, a properly sized and economically viable transportation system is essential to ensure continued expansion and development in western North Dakota and is dependent upon a comprehensive, accurate oil production forecast.  At present, the North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources periodically updates a comprehensive state wide oil production forecast that includes all producing formations; the most current forecast estimates oil production between 450,000 and 700,000 bopd within the next three to seven years.  As production expands into eastern Montana, it’s estimated that potential production could reach somewhere between 550,000 and 800,000 bopd (2015 to 2020).  These estimates could be off significantly with the North Dakota Petroleum Council’s estimated producion in October of 2011 of 500,000 bopd.

The movement of crude not only focuses on the larger export projects, but also on the secondary challenge of efficiently and safely moving crude oil within the state itself. Crude oil gathering pipelines are being constructed around the Williston Basin to help lower the overall transportation costs and reduce some of the trucking issues associated with heavy road traffic and North Dakota’s harsh winters.

While several major projects ahve been planned, post 2010, to address the growing crude volume, pipeline capacity is not expected to keep pace with production levels until 2013.  This leave incremental volume to be dependent primarily rail.

I am imaging you right now, sitting on the edge of your seat, and watching the players all around you while wondering what the next few minutes, the next few months and the ensuing years will bring. Will it be opportunity and wealth? Will it be the loss of a lifestyle you never truly valued until it was threatened? Will you be part of the action or will you be wondering what exactly happened?

Some say the Bakken is a boom, some say it can never bust and if it can’t bust, it is not a boom, but simply a fact; a very fast growing fact. I argue that energy, by nature of the beast, booms. It also busts, it maintains, it sustains, it frightens and it excites people and cities. Whatever your stance, fear or possibility, these are crazy times. Opportunity, pitfalls, excitement and fear may swirl around you and if the one constant in this game of life is change, well here you are, smack dab in the middle of it. So, what are you going to do? Cower or pounce?

I hope you will look around, take stock of those beside you, behind you and in front of you and say ‘these are my people.’ And when you say ‘these are my people’, I hope you will hear the depth of commitment and feeling that comes with that statement. You are in this together, somewhat like marriage and the vow of for better or worse, here you are, moving forward…together. All you have is each other and this thing called possibility.

In this blog I will talk to you about taking care of each other. About working together, embracing the best of each person and blessing them with your skills and knowledge. I will ask you to be your best and in being your best to help others to be their best. It does not matter if they are competitors, partners, neighbors or family. When you work together there is an opportunity for real growth, for real satisfaction and for the boom you hear to be the best kind of boom, the boom of fireworks and closed doors being blown open.

Adjust your stance and let’s move forward by working together.

Copyright 2011 Karen Grosz for Canvas Creek Team Building

Let’s talk about big trucks, the oil field, and safety…

With significant truck traffic on the roads, delays are the norm.  While downtime is money in the oil industry; so also is the down time one can expected to experience when transport vehicles are wrecked or even totalled.  Generally speaking, routine truck repairs are taking 3 to 6 months in the Williston Basin and let’s face it – a collison is not a routine repair.  And, think of something worse and much more costly – a fatality !

Let’s think about why…

• Is it because there are in inordinate amount of drivers there that haven’t had sufficient training?
• Is it because as we all have heard, people are swarming there to get a job, and may have never driven in the extreme conditions that North Dakota lends?
• Are drivers driving while fatigued and not thinking right, meaning violations of hours of service?
• Are carriers pushing drivers to take loads when they know that it not safe? Are the roads not up to par due to the huge influx of people?

I would say that it is probably all of the above….What’s the answer? What can be done to make it safer to drive in an area that is growing by leaps and bounds? What do you think? The answers start with you.

© JJ Arnett