creative kids

Special Supplement to the

Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2013

How has your community changed in the last few

years with the increase in oil activity in our area?

11th edition

Creative kids2 Wednesday, jan. 30, 2013 sidney Herald

By LiBBy Berndtsidney Herald publisHer

This year marks the 11th edition of Sidney Herald’s Creative Kids section where the Herald and area businesses bring the talents of area students to life.

The editorial portion of this section took a different twist this year, with seventh- and eighth-grade students from Sidney, East Fairview and Fairview schools answering the question – “How has your community changed in the last few years with the increase in oil activ-ity in our area?”

Area students shared their opinions on the changes, both positive and nega-tive. More than 200 essays were written, many doing research on the facts and figures for population change, employ-ment issues and the new people arriv-ing here to make the MonDak their home.

The time and energy that went into each essay is apparent, making the voting process even harder. Herald editorial staff chose the top 10 essays. From those, the first- and second-place winners were picked. No spelling cor-rections or editing has been done to the stories, so what you read is what the

students wrote.Printed in this sec-

tion are the top 10, along with many of the other great essays we received. There was not room in the special section to print all the essays received, but our plan is to publish them periodi-cally on the Newspaper In Education page in the months ahead.

An important part of the Creative Kids section

is the advertisements, just as it is in the newspaper. In this case, the ads were not designed on the computer by the Herald production staff, but instead were hand-drawn by fourth- through sixth-grade students in the Sidney, Rau, Brorson, Savage and Fairview schools. More than 300 students showed their talents by de-signing one of the business-sponsored ads.

Each participating business was given a number of advertisements, with each business deciding the best ad represent-ing its message. The chosen ad is the one printed in this section.

Students were encouraged to do their

homework before drafting the ad. It is important to know the ins and outs of the business you are helping to promote. The student learned about the business by doing their research. He or she may have visited the business, asking ques-tions, viewed their ads in the newspa-per, phonebook, special sections or by checking out the business’ website, a valuable lesson in marketing.

The Herald staff then selected the top 10 advertisements from those selections, with the top two receiving the first- and second-place awards. This year 11 top ads were picked, due to a tie on several.

Spend time and read what our chil-dren have to say on what they see, hear and feel about the Bakken development. Through these essays, readers can see what our younger generation has to say about the changes happening in each of their communities.

First-place advertisement winner Car-lee Strasheim, sixth-grader from Sidney Middle School, received $50 in Sidney Area Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture Chamber Bucks sponsored by Wells Fargo; second-place ad winner Carter Johnson, fifth-grader in Sidney, received $25 in Chamber Bucks from Stockman Bank.

For the essay winners, first-place winner Lexi Berube, eighth-grader at Sidney Middle School, was awarded a $50 in Chamber Bucks from Richland Federal Credit Union; second place Kelly Danielson, East Fairview, received $25 in Chamber Bucks from 1st Bank.

Thank you to all the businesses involved, to the financial institutions for their sponsorships, and to the many teachers and students in Richland County for their continued support of this creative project. The success of the Creative Kids section each year is only because of each of you.

Creative Kids section focuses on oil impacts in area

Thinkin’out loud

libby berndt

‘through these essays, readers

can see what our younger

generation has to say about the

changes happening in each

of their communities.’

Libby Berndtpublisher

Blue Rock Products Co. – Pepsi , created by Madison Gorde, sixth grade, Sidney Middle School

Creative kidsSIDNEY HERALD WEDNESDAY, jAN. 30, 2013 3

In 2010, I used to be able to ride my bike everywhere. Now I don’t go any-where alone and when I’m at home, I lock the doors like many other people are also starting to do. There are many new people in our small and ever grow-ing community. With all these new people came many benefits and chal-lenges.

The 2010 census from the Sidney Chamber of Commerce shows that there are currently 5,191 people in Sidney Montana, and 9,746 in Rich-land County. There has been an 8.7% increase in population since 2000. But with more people, comes a lot more traffic. There have probably been more accidents in the past few months than there were in all of 2010. There are many more unsafe drivers too.

Many people currently in the Sidney area are from other parts of the U.S. and are not used to driving in harsh winter conditions. Some people, including locals, are so caught up talking on their cell phones to notice that they are going

through a red light. Everyone is always in such a hurry to get from here to there that they don’t even care enough to stop at a stop sign.

There are many benefits to all of this, however. Like the fact that we are get-ting more businesses and restaurants. According to the Sidney Chamber of Commerce, the unemployment rate is

at 3.6%. Compared to many cities in America, that’s pretty good.

It seems like we are also getting a lot more people in our schools, too. This past year, we have had a number of new students in our school system and I have enjoyed meeting many of them. There are also more job opportunities for not only adults, but also teenagers. If you are 14, you could work at a few local fast-food restaurants such as Taco Johns or McDonalds. There is a lot more money in our area with this oil boom, which means that we can re-model and-or build many more schools, restaurants, businesses, and houses.

In 2010, it seemed like I knew almost everyone in Sidney. Now when I walk into a restaurant, I barely ever see any-one I recognize. There are less people working in restaurants now, and more people working in the oil field. McDon-ald’s owner, John Francis, says that in 2010 he had 55 employees and now he only has 17. It used to take only about 15 minutes to get in and out of McDonalds,

but now it takes about 45 minutes. There are many challenges we face,

but the benefits of this oil boom are tremendous!

First placeBenefits, challenges of the Bakken oil boom

By Lexi Berube, Sidney Middle School

‘In 2010, it seemed like I knew

almost everyone in Sidney. Now

when I walk into a restaurant, I

barely ever see anyone

I recognize.’

Lexi BerubeSidney Middle School student

HealthWorks , created by Ainhoa Idoate, sixth grade, Sidney Middle School


A great word to describe the oil field (or oil traf-fic) is “bittersweet.” I don’t like change and probably very few people do. The oil boom has helped in a way I wouldn’t even think of. It has helped me with accep-tance!

I have learned to accept the changing surroundings and pick out the good things in life, not just the bad things. Not every person in the oil business is mean, rude, or “scary.” Some of the people in the oil industry are the politest people I have met! Don’t ever call them lazy. They are some of the hardest workers out there.

I am not going to lie, the small town of Fairview, Montana (now oil-struck Fairview, Montana) has changed so much. Before the oil boom, I would be able to go to school and name every kid I saw. I strug-gle with that now but, like I said earlier, I am learn-ing to accept and like the change. I am able to meet someone new every day! I have friends I wouldn’t have been able to have without the oil boom.

I do miss all of the small towns and open roads around here. Every time I am on my way home counting all of those cars, pickups, and semis, I get a little upset with the number in my head. Just think though, in those vehicles could be normal people making an honest living for their family. They

are working crazy hours for their job. I will try to never judge another oil field worker again. I will put myself in their shoes and realize they are just like you and I. Before you get mad and yell at them from behind the wheel, remember they are just men and women working for a living. They have a family who they don’t always get to see. Be grateful for new stop signs, new restaurants, and new friends.

Over all, the oil field has changed my town so much. It has also changed the way I look at people

now. I try and give them a chance knowing they do the same for us!

second placeChange is good for us

By Kelly danielson, east Fairview‘Some of the people in the oil industry are

the politest people I have met! Don’t ever

call them lazy. They are some of the hardest

workers out there.’

Kelly Danielsoneast Fairview

Reese & Ray’s IGA, created by Jadyn Gackle, fourth grade, Fairview Elementary School


My community has changed in the last few years with the increase in oil activ-ity. Schools are busting at the seams, there is a housing shortage, increased traffic, and a lot of employment oppor-tunities.

Derek Gackle, the East Fairview School principal, said, “The number of kids has changed from 30 to 80 kids and there has been many different cultures coming into the school that are very dif-ferent from ours.” Gackle also explained

that along with the increase in enroll-ment comes an increase in staff, two new teachers were hired as a result of the increase in student population.

There has also been a big problem with housing shortage. Many people have moved here and have not even thought about where to live. Rayne Norman, a 6th grader at East Fairview School, said, “I’ve noticed a lot more people have moved into my trailer court and there is getting to be no more room.” Most trail-

er courts, RV parks, and Campgrounds are full. There are very few other afford-able housing options for people coming here looking for work.

There has also been an increase in traffic. Tutti Yaden is an East Fairview School bus driver and drives the school bus for the high school at West Fairview School. Yaden said, “It’s hectic! Now that there is more traffic you have to be more aware and know what you’re do-ing.” There is more traffic on the roads and it’s very hard for people who drive the roads every day to get to work. Julie Dragseth, an East Fairview resident, commutes to Williston for work. “We moved out to this area to escape the chaos and over populated school system

in Williston. Two years ago it took me thirty minutes to get to town. Now it takes me 45 minutes to an hour to drive twenty five miles.”

Right now in MonDak region there are 624 positions open on www.jobsnd.com. Many people are coming here from out of state to fill them because they have no jobs where they used to live. This is usu-ally because of poor economy or because of requirements for the work.

There is always a price to pay for progress. Some people feel it’s worth the price and others would like to see it go away all together. Whether we like it or not it appears this oil boom is here to stay.

Top 10Oil brings changes to local community

By Grace Dragseth, East Fairview

The community of Sidney has been affected by the increase of oil activity. Individual businesses have been af-fected in different ways. Sidney Health Center is an example of one business the oil boom has influenced.

The positive side of all this oil activity is the ER visits have increased more than a third and the number of surger-ies performed has risen. However, on the flip side, a higher percentage of new

patients are not paying their medical bills.

Tina Montgomery, chief financial of-ficer of the hospital, says the hospital’s bad debt has gone from 790,000 dollars to 2.4 million dollars in 1 year. Another problem the hospital is having is finding qualified staff workers on the business side because they cannot compete with the oil field salaries. Mrs. Montgomery also said that because the hospital is

short staffed on the business side it makes it difficult to organize and collect payments from patients.

The housing issue, due to the oil activity, has also affected the hospital’s ability to employ people from out of town. The hospital tries to help this problem by assisting their new employ-ees in locating housing. To fix some of the other problems, Mrs. Montgomery says the health center is getting help

from outside companies to help collect outstanding bills. Also, the hospital is starting to collect money upfront. This form of payment is been used at the new walk-in clinic, which was opened to help the overflow in the ER.

Even though our community has gone through some changes, the business, like the health center, are finding ways to respond.

How Sidney Health Center responds By Logan Peterson, Sidney Middle School

Dr. Curt Christensen, D.M.D., created by Kaden Everett, fourth grade, Sidney Elementary School

http://www.jobsnd.com


What do the following words describe: trucks, campers, crowded classrooms, new traffic lights, money, and jobs? If you guessed a town in an oil boom, you were correct.

Fairview, our quiet, peaceful town is one such town that is definitely expe-riencing a time of change during the current oil boom. While some of these changes have affected us negatively, oth-ers have been positive.

Traffic has greatly increased in the last year. Oil trucks, water trucks, and gravel trucks make up much of the traffic on our roads and highways. With increased traffic comes a greater risk of accidents, and more money is needed to maintain the roads.

Pastures that were once home to cattle and horses now hold campers and trucks. The area looks like one big RV park. In Fairview, we have seen a small increase in the number of students in our school. Although we are not bursting at the seams yet, we do have a couple of classrooms that don’t have

much extra space left for desks. The new traffic lights have made it

safer for those walking to cross the street. They have also served to slow down the traffic thus making it safer for everyone. The increase in people to our area has brought a significant amount of money to our town. The newcomers buy gas, groceries, and eat at local res-taurants. At a time when jobs are few in many parts of the country, the Bakken oil boom has created thousands of jobs. Thus giving many the opportunity to provide a better way of life for them-selves and their families.

The new traffic lights, the money, and the jobs are nice, but I would trade them in a heartbeat for the quiet, peaceful town that Fairview used to be. That quiet, peaceful town that didn’t have all of the trucks, campers, and crowded classrooms that it does now.

That quiet, peaceful town where the Fairview Bridge used to catch the atten-tion of many visitors and locals alike, not the towering oil rig of today light-ing up the night sky like a skinny, silver Christmas tree. Oh, how I miss you, Fairview, that quiet, peaceful town!

Top 10How has your community changed?By lexie selting, Fairview

We’re Livin’ Bakken Style

(as in Gangnam style)

Years ago no oneheard of this place

Now the entire world can see us from space

If you’re moving herebetter stay were you are

Housings so tight and you’ll be liven’ in your car

We’re livin’ Bakken Style


I used to knoweveryone at schoolNow I feel like a foolsaying’ Who Dat! Who

Dat! Who Dat!

From all overthey come to SidneyWe got jobs hereWe got jobs here.

Our McDonald’s is always short on staff

They call it fast food just makes me laugh

If you’re out of work and not afraid of the cold

Grab some F.R’s and carharts believe what you’ve been told



There are man campsif you’re down on your

luck

Within two weeksyou’ll be driving a

white truck

We’re all trying’ We’re all survivin’

Livin’ Bakken StyleLivin’ Bakken Style

Sidney’s my homelivin’ here is a testBut people care and this town is the best.

From all overThey come to SidneyWe got jobs here. We got jobs here.

We’re all tryin’ We’re all surviving’

Livin’ Bakken StyleLivin’ Bakken Style

We’re Livin’ Bakken StyleBy Carson allen, sidney Middle school

McDonalds, created by Logan Schipman, fifth grade, Central Elementary School


Coca-Cola, created by Blane Lawrence, sixth grade, Sidney Middle School

Hurley Oil Field Service, created by Emma Wick, fourth grade, Fairview Elementary School


Sidney Montana has had a magnifi-cent change in the past 3 years. “It went from 5,190 in 2010 to an expected 6,000 to 9,000 residents by 2015”, said John Olson (the owner of Blue Rock). In the 2000 census there were four percent more women than men in Sidney. Now the population of men has increased over ten percent more than the women population. The population growth has affected every aspect of day-to-day life in Sidney Montana.

The growth in population has en-hanced the economy in Sidney to one of the strongest in the state. Accord-ing to the Mt. Gov. Labor and Industry website stores are doing great business; unemployment is the lowest in Rich-land County now than it has been for many years. Richland County is ranked fourth lowest rate of unemployment for the state with 2.3% whereas the over-all state percent is at 5.7%. One of the reasons Montana unemployment has held relatively low on a statewide basis is the oil development. The household median income in Sidney has gone up

$32,109 in 2000 to $48,890 in 2010 and is still on the upswing. These higher pay-ing jobs are also generating more tax revenue for Montana. It is estimated that over 100 million dollars from the oil and gas production will come to

Montana and be able to trickle down to help Montana’s schools and hospital, Llew Jones said.

Many employees working in the oil field still call other parts of Montana their home. Thus their paycheck is sent to their hometowns where that money stimulates economy throughout the

state. The train that runs from White-fish, Montana to Eastern Montana and North Dakota is always filled with oil field workers. The need to fill jobs is pulling people in from all over the state, Llew Jones (Montana senator) said.

The downside to the major growth in population is the crime and personal safety. I think that all of these nasty drugs are leading to nasty crimes. On average in Sidney there are three crimes a day! “We average a DUI ( Driv-ing Under the Influence) arrests a day now. About 40% of all deaths by car accidents are caused by drunk driving, said Robert Burnison (chief of police). whenever there is an increase in popu-lation, particularly an increase in non-permanent population, there is some increase in crime,” said Llew Jones.

In Sidney now there is no more keep-ing your car and house doors unlocked. “There is so much good and so much bad that comes with it,” Paul Finnicum (Chairman of the Culbertson school board) said. “It’s here, embrace it.”

Growth and changeTop 10

By Mateya Coffman, sidney Middle school

larene lily GrondaHl | sidney Herald

‘The population growth has

affected every aspect of day-to-

day life in Sidney Montana.’

Mateya Coffmansidney Middle school student

Seitz Insurance, created by Logan Jones, fourth grade, Sidney West Side Elementary School


Our community has changed drastically in the past few years. We have had great success and great sorrow. We have had more oil revenue and more donations to our schools. We also have had a decrease in employ-ees for our restaurants and as a result we can’t enjoy decent fast food meal. McDonald’s is only open for 8 hours a day. Our roads are not built to handle all of the extra traffic.

Kelly Johnson Sidney Middle School principal said, “We have had 45 new students start this year, and around 20 have left. We have a limited budget to do special things. For example Sidney boys and girls basketball teams can’t eat as a team at restaurants on basketball trips. With so many students leaving it is equally hard on both students and teachers.”

With the influx in people in Sidney and the sur-

rounding region we have had many people considered homeless. Homeless in Montana means that you either live in a camper or are sharing a house with a family not a relative.

Overall we have had a great change, but I’m proud to live in Sidney where we have had many ethnic groups and great kids and people alike coming to Sidney.

Bakken boom: Positives and negativesBy john Beyer, Sidney Middle School

A few years ago, Sidney was a small quiet town. Ever since the oil activity, the need for mace, security systems, and martial arts classes have gone up. In addition, the increase in the quantity of people looking for low level jobs, many people who have just been released from prison, are moving here to find jobs.

According to comments made in the Sept. 22, 2012 issue of the Sidney Herald, Police Chief Frank DiFonzo stated arrests for 2012 were up 25% from

the previous year. The oil activity has brought an increase in traffic activity, resulting in more traffic accidents and fatalities. DUI’s and alcohol related inci-dents have also been on the rise.

An online article from NorthIowaTo-day.com read; “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. “We’re up in felonies all over the place

here. What we’re seeing is a lot of out-of-state (resident) felonies.”

Also drug abuse is on the rise with many additional felony drug offenses. And, in a recent Sidney Herald article, according to a press release from the Montana Board of Control, a drug task force agent has been hired for the Rich-land County area to address some of the oil boom’s impacts in the area. “It has a lot to do with the increasing population and the increasing demands on local

law enforcement,” DiFonzo said.In conclusion, with the increase of the

public concerns for safety, not only has there been an increase of the purchase of self defense products, there has also been an increase in concealed weap-ons permits according to Judge Mohr. Hunter’s classes are required in Sidney for permits to be issued. Typically, there are two hunter’s safety classes a year, however this year they had to add two additional classes.

People are in general more afraid and looking for ways of protecting them-selves.

Safety concerns during oil boomBy Cristian Seitz, Sidney Middle School

Reynolds Market, created by Alexia Papka, fourth grade, Savage Elementary School


Oil activity in this area has changed our community in many ways. One way our community has changed is the new construction and housing developments that are being built. The population of Sidney, Montana is growing rapidly, and it is hard for some people to find or afford housing. Since this summer three brand new hotels have been built. Apart-ments and housing developments are being built as well.

These buildings are good but people can’t live in hotels forever, especially families. I believe if Sidney wants to do it right they need to build actual homes. Right now we have families that are living in RVs and temporary housing. If they could live in real homes more work-ers’ families could move to Sidney and fill some of the local businesses much needed jobs. For example, most business-es are either having trouble staying open during the day or even staying open.

Oil activity has had an impact un-manly people and companies in good and bad ways. Some of the ways it is having an effect is on traffic and roads.

Just recently, Central Avenue has been refaced and the streetlights have been replaced or added. More county roads are being improved and becoming wider for oil trucks. Businesses are receiving more commerce, but can’t keep up with the oil field wages. Buildings are being built and remodeled. For example, the courthouse is being remodeled and a new community services building was built. The new justice center and the cancer center have been built also. These are great improvements to the communi-ty and Richland County. Oil has and will continue to change our community.

Top 10Oil activity has changed our community

By Michael McGinnis, sidney Middle school ‘These are great improvements to

the community and

Richland County.’

Michael McGinnissidney Middle school student

Throughout the years our community has changed greatly. Ever since we discovered the bountiful oil in our town, our housing and traffic has changed dramati-cally.

Sidney’s housing has been trying hard to keep up with our society…but lately the demand for housing grew. Since we have many new people in town, our house sales have spiked up prices. These prices leave many people in debt that have to work for years just to pay it off.

Some people who came here also left family back home and if they want to visit or move back to their family they can’t because they have to pay

off the debt on a house.Sidney uses oil money

to benefit the people by using money to build ho-tels and apartments. The hotels and apartments help oil companies and other people to not buy a permanent home.

For example, instead of buying a permanent home you can leave whenever you need to. These new “problem solvers” have helped greatly to house many more of our people.

The community is also building new houses that are going to be sold to help others. These houses are going to help the people who have to live in their cars or in an RV.

Another important big

issue is traffic. Every town, village, or city has traffic in one way or an-other but Sidney’s traffic has grown in a short period of time.

The traffic was so good in the last years you could get to your destina-tion in mere minutes. Now it will take a notice-ably longer time.

To benefit the roads, Sidney has replaced old traffic lights and walk-don’t walk signs to help the traffic be more ef-ficient. And if you drive by a traffic light you can even notice new cameras on top of the lights to regulate more traffic.

Our great town of Sid-ney accepts change, but the question is, Can you?

Is change good or bad in Sidney?By Bree Fischer, sidney Middle school

Western Tire Company, created by Cole MCarney, fifth grade, Central Elementary School


Our community has changed a lot over the past few years with all the oil activity booming. The commu-nity has had a bunch of ups and downs in the last few years because of the oil boom.

The population has grown tremendously as has the construction of new houses. Now you could walk into a grocery store and not know anybody there. Or you could have an empty lot by your house and the next day a construction team is there building a new house. As with the population the crime rate has also gone up. The whole community became a lot more aware of strangers and walking around town since Sherry Arnold went missing. I saw the increase and demand of pepper spray, tasers, and other protection items gig up around our community.

There is also a need for more restaurants in the com-

munity with all the new people coming in. However, even with the influx of new people there is barely enough people to work in the restaurants.

Traffic has been busier than ever with the oil boom and all the new people coming into town. Our com-munity has had to put up more stop lights and make a new road on Main street. There are more trucks on the road thus making it harder and wasting more time to get to a nearby town. The increase in traffic means more police are on the roads looking for traffic viola-tions. I have seen at least one car pullover each day when I go to school because they had made a traffic violation.

The wildlife too has been affected by the traffic and construction of new houses. I have seen a lot of road-kill on the highway from Sidney to Williston. The new

housing is decreasing their habitat and food resourc-es, thus making it harder for them to survive here in the fast-changing environment.

A lot of people in Sidney have problems financially due to the oil boom. There are some homeless people here staying in our parks and in the R.V. parks here. I do hope they have enough money to make a living here and make money. I have seen a few kids in the SMS move away because their parents weren’t doing so well here and couldn’t find work or good housing.

There is also a demand for more food in the grocery stores. This week in IGA, there was no bread in the bread section. That makes bread one of the highest demand items in the whole grocery store.

In conclusion, our community has grown in many different ways because of the oil boom.

Our community changesBy Ally McLaughlin, Sidney Middle School

In the past year Eastern Montana and North Da-kota have changed drastically. Housing has become extremely hard to find, but there is a great number of jobs available. Many people are looking for good, high paying jobs in the oil field, which we have a lot of... But when they bring their family, housing can be difficult

to find. Even a house just for one person is hard to find! Families are forced to live in hotels, RV’s, or even with families that they might not know that well. As a small community that Sidney once was, this is a pretty huge change for us!

There are jobs in Sidney that pay anywhere from

$20,000-$160,000 a year. According to the Montana Jobs website there are 259+ jobs available in or around the Sidney area. Jobs anywhere from a dispatcher to a clerk to a truck driver. There are a great number of jobs available and many people to fill them, but there isn’t enough housing to make it all possible.

Communities coming together?By Tayler Lange, Sidney Middle School

Fulkerson Funeral Home, created by Beth McMillen, fourth grade, Brorson Elementary School


Ever since I moved here seven years ago, I’ve noticed the traffic has changed greatly, More trucks have entered the road causing traffic to bunch together. The trucks are bigger and have larger equipment like cranes and oil rigs. even though they are a big part of it, trucks are not the only ones who are causing this problem. The number of cars has increased due to the mass of new people here. All of the new people here need cars to drive around in from place to place, too.

Taking a child to school has defi-nitely been affected by traffic. When my mom drops my brother off at WestSide School, it takes her at least five minutes from Central Ave. to get there, and going to the High school is also more difficult.

My dad, an experienced truck driver for Mitchell’s Oil Field Service, has noticed that the roads have been worn down by heavy traffic. even new roads have been disintegrated by large semi trucks with heavy loads. Sidney has changed from four lands to three be-

cause of all the traffic. Now it is safer for pedestrians wishing to cross Central Avenue. The number of traffic lights has increased to control the flow of traffic.

With all the traffic around, it has increased the number of accidents. In North Dakota alone, one accident occurs every eight hours. I have also noticed the number of speeding cars has increased.

All the people coming here isn’t that bad, though. With all the new people and their cars, there are more license plates. Since people have to pay the city for their plates, the city gets more money to fix up the disintegrated roads! The mechanics also get some more money fixing up the broken cars.

The oil boom isn’t really that bad. It has provided homes and jobs for people who probably wouldn’t have these! I have met many new people who are very nice, and I probably wouldn’t have met them without the oil boom.

Top 10Car crazy

By sophie Watson, sidney Middle schoolOur community has changed over

the last few years in many positive and negative ways. A positive way the com-munity has changed over these years is the population. There are now more new students arriving each month then there ever was. Sometime around fourth grade, getting new students was a BIG thing. We would only get a new student every few months or so, but it created a great opportunity for us to create new friends.

Two negative ways the community has changed is the amount of traffic and amount of car crashes. Many have died or been injured over the last few years in car crashes, creating tragic losses for some families. I used to be able to get to school in approximately four minutes. Today, it takes about seven or eight minutes to get to school. I have heard some really frightening stories about car crashes, and also know a few witnesses of car crashes.

On the bright side, the opportunity for jobs is going up. Many more people are getting jobs now comrade to a few years ago. New businesses are showing up in the area and accreting jobs for the unemployed. Some businesses start out

in small stands and make their way into buildings that are no longer in use or have been bought.

Sadly, a problem in our community is housing. Many people can not afford the amount for houses or even for rent. Some houses are up in the hundred-thousand dollar range or higher. This is part of the reason many hotels and apartments are going up around the community. There are also a lot of people living in RV’s or campers because of the prices on the housing.

One last concern of mine is the safety of a citizen in our town. I no longer go walking or biking somewhere alone. Bringing a friend or two is mandatory before I go somewhere. Another concern of mine is crime. Lately, I haven’t heard of any crime in the community ( which is a good thing), but I have heard of some minor stories of crime outside our town. I do not believe all of the new people coming from the oil activity in our area are bad people. I have made some new friends at SMS because of the activity.

Not all of the changes in our com-munity because of the oil activity are negative. Most changes may actually be beneficial for most. These are some posi-tives and negatives about the changes in our community.

Changes in the communityBy Garrison Hughes, sidney Middle school

Franz Construction, Inc., created by Carter Johnson, fifth grade, Central Elementary School


Lower Yellowstone Rural Electric Assn. Inc., created by Lily Johnson, fourth grade, West Side Elementary School

Sidney Red-E-Mix, created by Bode Deming, fourth grade, West Side Elementary School


My community has changed in many ways during the last few years with the oil activity in our area.

One way my community has changed is with all of the new students that have enrolled in our school. I have made quite a few new friends in the past cou-ple years. But with all of the new people

coming to Sidney, housing seems to be an issue. There are many campgrounds, new hotels, and apartments that were just built within the last year.

Once the oil activity dies down ( if it ever does), who will live in these if most of the people move away? Also with the

many new people in our community, there is a lot more traffic and that is an issue dealing with safety. While driv-ing around town with my parents I see people running red lights, not looking for pedestrians before turning, and com-mitting other traffic violations.

The new stoplights have helped around town though. Before the stop light by Footers and Loaf ’n Jug was there, it was almost impossible to get across in a car or while riding bike. And to add to that, the new turning light by Pro-Build has helped more than just one car turn before the red light.

The oil activity in our community has boosted our local economy. Restaurants are busier than ever during lunch and dinner. Our local grocery stores and oth-er businesses have more customers too. But, to serve everyone, help is needed to work. It seems like every restaurant has a help wanted sign up. Instead of people working in these places who need help, they are raking higher paying jobs in the oil field.

During the last few years the oil activ-ity in our area has had negative and positive effects on our town.

Community changesBy jordan Baxter, sidney Middle school

‘Also with the many new people

in our community, there is a lot

more traffic and that is an issue

dealing with safety.’

Jordan Baxtersidney Middle school student

My family and I moved to Sidney, MT in August of 2011. We moved from Bill-ings because of the lost of work in the area we were living.

Since we have been in Sidney I have seen a lot of growth. I have seen three hotels go up with one or two more on the way. Now there are many apart-ments going up by the Post Office, the RV parks are all full, and my parents built Primo Truck Park to get the massive truck traffic off the streets of Sidney and now they are putting in park trailers and going through the subdivi-sion process to do family housing at the park. They thought this was needed be-cause of the amount of people who were coming to Sidney with nowhere to bring their families to live with them. The people who come here to work had to leave their families wherever they came from and sometimes kids are living in tents and small RV’s often in unsanitary conditions.

My parents said “We are trying to provide a safe and peaceful area where the kids will have a place to play and not have to worry about the growing crime

that comes with a booming area like Sidney.”

I see how hard my parents are work-ing every day to build our business

and my brother Daulton King and I have helped build the park by doing everything from pulling weeds, clean-ing, to operating heavy machinery. I have learned how to drive by pulling a harrow around the park to level out the gravel and ruts made by the trucks. I have been working hard than I have ever worked to try and take some stress off my parents’ shoulders.

Sidney’s boomBy amanda deegan, sidney Middle school

‘I have been working hard than I

have ever worked to try and take

some stress off my

parents’ shoulders.’

Amanda Deegansidney Middle school student

ElectricLand - Radio Shack, created by MaKenzie Bjork, sixth grade, Sidney Middle School


Real Trucking, Inc., created by Christine Turek, fifth grade, Rau Elementary School

Olson Plumbing & Heating, created by Cole Stevens, fourth grade, Fairview Elementary School


Eleven students (due to several ties) receiving top 10 honors in advertising design are, front from left, students Nicolas Trevino, Silas Watson, Bode Deming and Carter Johnson; back, Lily Johnson, Carlee Strasheim, Kylee Lambert, Jadyn Gackle, Madison Hammer and Ainhoa Ido-ate; and at right, Dylan Churchill.

Creative Kids Top 10 advertising winners

Creative Kids Top 10 essay winners

Top 10 winners in essay writing are area students, front from left, Sophie Watson, Logan Peterson, Bree Fischer and Carson Allen; back, Kelly Danielson, Mateya Coffman, Lexi Berube, Lexie Selting and Grace Dragseth; and at left, Michael McGinnis.

203 2nd St. NW, Sidney, MT482-3737

Floral dept. 482-8235

Dr. Curt Christensen D.M.D.

406-482-26661405 4th St. SW, Sidney

Westside Professional Center, Suite 4

Creative kidsSIDNEY HERALD WEDNESDAY, JAN. 30, 2013 17

Mark Martin, Agent 302 W. Main, Sidney

406-433-4416 ~ Fax 406-433-4417

121 2nd Ave. NE • Sidney

406-433-1405We carry a full line of

Fire Resistant Garments

• Quality Work• Affordable Prices

Monday - Friday8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

State of the art dry cleaning machine uses OSIA & EPA friendly new generation III solvent.

Financial institutions award top winners

433-6607 • Sidney

2265 S. Central • 433.6754 www.slserviceinc.com

433-4650 2302 S. Central, Sidney2221 S. Central • 433.6757

www.sondassolutions.com

First placeAt left, Carlee Strasheim,

sixth-grader at Sidney Middle School, receives $50 in Sidney Chamber Bucks from Ve-ronica Melby of Wells Fargo, sponsor of the award, for being the first-place winner in the advertising contest.

At right, Lexie Berube, eighth-grader at Sidney Middle School, was awarded $25 in Sidney Chamber Bucks from Sharon Roth, Richland Federal Credit Union, sponosr of the award, for first-place honors on the essay writing.

Second placeAt left, Carter Johnson,

fifth-grader at Sidney Central Elementary School, receives $25 in Sidney Chamber Bucks from Pam Burman of Stock-man Bank, sponsor of the award, for being the second-place winner in the advertis-ing contest.

At right, Kelly Daniel-son, East Fairview School, was awarded $25 in Sidney Chamber Bucks from Rowdy Cvancara, 1st Bank, sponsor of award, for second-place honors on the essay writing.

http://www.slserviceinc.com

http://www.sondassolutions.com


I think Fairview has changed a lot over the past few years. More people are moving here and there are a lot of trailer houses along the roads. I see a lot of trucks around now. The oil wells are actually pretty cool. I’ve seen a lot of those lately, including the one near my house.

Before the oil boom, there wasn’t that many people in town. The roads were pretty much empty.

A lot of businesses in Fairview have been affected by all the people coming here. The oil businesses in Montana have also been affected in the past few years. A lot of people are earning money because of the oil boom.

Another good thing about it is that there are more jobs for people. They can have a job driving trucks. They can also get a job working on oil rigs.

There are also some bad things that come from the oil boom. There’s a lot of traffic and there are a bunch of trucks. During winter, the trucks can slide around on the ice and cause crashes. Restaurants can be really crowded sometimes. But that can also be a good thing because the restaurants get more

money that way.There are a lot of trailer houses and

campers around here. Most of them aren’t permanent because some of the campers around my house have moved.

I think it’s cool to get all the new neigh-bors.

Some of the new people in town are really nice. Some of the kids in our school came here because their parents got a job in the oil field. Overall, I think the best thing about the oil boom is meeting all the new people coming to Fairview at this time.

How the oil has changed FairviewBy Chandler norby, east Fairview

‘Overall, I think the best thing

about the oil boom is meeting

all the new people coming to

Fairview at this time.’

Chandler Norbyeast Fairview student

I remember when the oil was not here. There was not that much traffic, now there are cars all over.

Before the oil boom, we used to see maybe 30 cars on main street in Fair-view and now there are probably 50 cars on main street. My dad used to tell me that we should wave at every car because that might be the only car you will see for a while, but not anymore.

We also used to know everyone in town, but not anymore. That is not a bad thing though. The thing I like about the oil field is the kids that come with the oil. I like that because if there are more kids you are probably going to have more friends. That is my favorite thing about the oil boom.

There are other good things about the oil boom. Like all the jobs the oil field has offered people. The other thing I re-ally like about the oil field is that some companies donate money to help with our schools. They donate backpacks for kids in some schools. I think those are some of the great things the oil field has brought here.

I just talked about the good things about the oil field, but there are bad things that came with it. Like the prices

of houses went up. Another thing is that the crimes that came with the oil field. I am not saying that people in the oil field are bad people it is just with more people coming the crimes will increase.

I think the oil field has really helped businesses. I know it has really helped

the restaurants in town. It has made the people in the restaurants earn more money. It is a good thing for our community to have as much workers as we do. I think that the oil boom has brought good and bad things to our community, and we need to learn how to deal with the bad things the oil boom has brought us.

How oil has changed my lifeBy Pat Hardy, east Fairview

‘My dad used to tell me that we

should wave at every car because

that might be the only car you will

see for a while,

but not anymore.’

Pat Hardyeast Fairview student

Sidney Cleaners & Laundry, created by Taryn Hagler, fourth grade, Savage Elementary School


How has the big boom affected my community? My community has changed a lot with the oil boom. We used to be a very small, safe, and trusting town, where everybody knew everybody else. Now there are a lot of new people that we do not know, and there is a lot more traffic too!

It all started about two or three years ago, when all the traffic started to increase. You started to see a lot more semis and trucks on the roads. Then you could start to see more cars and trailers along with a few man camps being built.

As everything kept progressing, oil wells would pop up here and there. There was also a lot more businesses starting up, but most of the busi-nesses wouldn’t stick around for very long. They would only last about a few months or so, and another one would just jump in and take its place.

The oil boom has helped our com-munity as far as growth and new businesses. It has also hurt our com-munity in some ways. There have been more vehicle accidents and a bit more crime. It also has not been helpful for

the farmers. The trucks get in their way and some of the pipelines and oil wells have hurt or destroyed their land. I have also noticed a lot more trash alongside the roads, and our town seems to be filthier. I’ve even noticed lot more people walking along the highway, which doesn’t seem very safe if you ask me!

The oil boom has definitely helped nearby communities, businesses, fami-lies, and even schools! It has helped schools as far as giving them money to pay for things they may not have been able to get before. With this money they can get things like new books, more teachers, and help them build on and improve their schools. They can build new classrooms, a new play-ground, and even a new gymnasium.

I think that the oil boom has helped our community in many ways. It has helped us make many new improve-ments and has helped us progress.

I think we should be grateful for this, but also we need to clean up after ourselves, and be more careful and re-spectful to others on the road, and stop all the “road rage”.

The big boomBy jenna Bieber, East Fairview

I’ve not quite lived in North Dakota a year, so I’m not sure what Fair-view was like before the oil boom. Though in my opinion, I think that it has affected Fairview and me in many ways. I really haven’t seen many bad changes since I’ve been here. Most of the things I’ve seen have been fun and enjoyable, and I would love to tell you about it.

When I first found out I was moving to North Dakota I was thrilled! It was like everything just fell into place. It was all fun and games until the day we left. It was very hard leaving the rest of my family, but I guess it has kind of grown on me. At least I get to visit them, or it would be very depressing.

On the day we got here it was pretty quiet. It was the first time I had ever

moved, so I was freaked out about going to school. When I got there, it was really cool because every-one took me in. Nobody made me feel alone or out of place in any way. As the year went on and I got to know everyone bet-ter, it seemed more like home. With my neighbors and friends at school, I felt like I had another family all of its own.

With my own family, my dad found a good job that he liked and so did my mom. They actually both found jobs at the same place. They do two totally different things, but they’re still together. I’ve gotten to go to work with my mom a couple of times and its fun. Of course she puts me to work but at least she pays me, and there are nice, friendly people there. I also have a brother, but he’s older than me and goes to the other school. He seems to be doing well, too.

With the oil boom, I have noticed changes even since I’ve been here. They’ve put up stop lights

in town to help with the traffic. A lot of people would say that the traffic has gotten worse, and they don’t like it. I would say just since I’ve been here, it’s gotten a little more crowded. I don’t think it’s a bad thing, though. The traffic here is nothing compared to where I used to be, and it’s nice to have more people around than there already is. I mean my old school has more people in one grade than this one has in the whole entire school! At least you get to know everybody better.

The only thing that I’ve thought to be a little annoying about the oil is the noisy rigs. When I first got here, I lived in a camper across the street from where they were building an oil rig. It was kind of cool with all the lights in the dark, but it was also really hard to fall asleep with all the noise. After a while I got used to the noise. I do have to say that it was a lot easier to fall asleep once they were finished with it, though.

Changing timesBy Merideth johnson,

East Fairview

Tri-County Implement, created by Dustin Benson, sixth grade, Sidney Middle School


Have people, traffic and crime changed our lives and communities? I feel it has affected all the surrounding com-munities, it’s not small town Fairview anymore. I think my parents are more protective of me and make me more aware of everything going on around me. I still laugh about the stop lights in our little town, and I don’t like the buzz-ing traffic. I don’t feel the change is all bad, it’s just new.

Our parents are more protective over us and we lost some freedom we took for granted. I’m glad my parents are being cautious and teaching me the same. Just because you don’t know everybody anymore, doesn’t mean they are bad. There are many new people in our com-munities and most are good, hardwork-ing folks with families just like us. I like having new kids in class and around the school. I think it makes it more the merrier. My family has also made new friends. It’s nice to hear about other parts of Montana and other states. We have even met people from other coun-ties!

Oil has directly affected my life, be-cause we own an oil field service com-pany. My parents started this business

almost 10 years ago. Their business has been a whirlwind the last 6 years. The business continues to grow like a weed and we have more people coming to work all the time. It is truly amazing. We are thankful for all the people that have been willing to move here to work! I am thankful, because it provides me jobs too! I like meeting everyone and their families. With all the new people moving here it is a housing shortage. There are campers everywhere in our communi-ties. We have about 20 employees that live in campers and 50 that reside in company housing. If I could change one thing it would be the living issues we all are facing.

The oil business has brought lots of money in to our communities, schools and homes. This money provides oppor-tunities that we may not have had before. I moved here when I was three months old and it’s my dad’s hometown. Fair-view might not be small town Fairview anymore, but it is my home and I love it! I feel lucky to be here, meeting the new people the oil boom has brought, or even sitting in traffic or waiting at local restaurants and I will get used to all the changes, maybe, just maybe.

Change isn’t all badBy Martha Hurley, Fairview

What would you do if your world were turned upside down?

I have lived in Fairview my whole life, and it feels like a home to me. But it’s not the little it used to be. Strangers are everywhere on the streets and we’re scared to walk around alone in town. As kids, we feel the need to be safe, and we don’t feel that way anymore. We feel scared, and alone. Our sweet as sugar little town is gone, and it’s not coming back anytime soon.

Have you noticed anything new in your town? In my little town Fairview, it has obviously changed quite a bit over the years. Let’s talk about the people who come from all over just to get a job. Like a million people over the years have come here to get the job, not of their dreams but to support themselves and maybe even there family. Since are little town is in the middle of the whole boom experience, and I think it’s getting really old really fast.

All the new strangers are quite intimi-dating toward us kids. May not be as intimidating to a boy, but as a girl such as myself I don’t technically feel safe if I go walking around alone or with a friend. Do you feel safe in your town?

Does the oil boom have an upside to all this crazy? I know it does, but what are these upsides? The first thing is that the big boom produced more jobs for every person who has to pay for the necessities such as electricity, food, hot water, heating, etc. Plus in the oil field the job pays well, up to even about $65,000 a year! That’s like swimming in money! When the man or woman gets a job in the oil field they usually have a strange schedule according to the days they work. Some may have week on the job and a week off, but your hard work pays off with the nice pay check.

In conclusion to this essay, I believe when the oil struck our little town, that they brought the best and bad things. Just think of all the fathers or even mothers who can support their families now because of the demand of oil.

Do you understand the sacrifices people had to make to move down here just to live? You must, I mean you have lived here and witnessed the terrible accidents of all the new comers but also the happy families who actually have money! Have you noticed anything new in your town?

World turned upside downBy emily Mocko, Fairview

Richland County Fair & Rodeo, created by Serenity Kuntz, fourth grade, West Side Elementary School


OK Lanes, created by Kaitlyn Keithley, sixth grade, Sidney Middle School

Interstate Engineering Inc., created by Wyatt Heringer, sixth grade, Sidney Middle School


Our community has changed in the last few years with the increase in oil activity causing more traffic. Traffic is a big thing in our community due to the oil.

The Montana Department of Trans-portation and the city council put in a three lane which is causing road rage because people are late to work or school often. Also, people that aren’t from our community and people close to our community think they own the road by pulling out in front of them when they’re not suppose to, also causing road rage. Some truck drivers like to think they own the road to because they are bigger than other vehicles, cars. They are also causing a lot of danger by hogging the road.

But the Montana Department of Transportation and the city council put up two new stop lights, which is both good and bad thing. The good thing about it is that it gives pedestrian time to cross the street and allows the side

traffic to go through. It also makes it good so that cars have to slow down and stop. The bad thing about the stop lights is that it backs up traffic because of the trucks going through town and not tak-ing the truck route.

There were also a number of wrecks last year. There were wrecks because of ice, drinking, tiredness, and texting. Truck drivers usually have to wake up really early and that causes them to drift off the road. Ice causes people to slide and difficult to stop sometimes.

Drinking and driving is just a bad idea. It is putting your life at risk If you take your eyes off the road for five sec-onds you can travel 440 feet according to Mr. Schulz. Mrs. Klose says that it used to take her twenty-five minutes to get to Sidney from Fairview and due to traffic and wrecks it takes her forty minutes.

Those are some ways that our commu-nity has changed in the last few years with the increase in oil activity in our area causing more traffic.

Oil explodes the road!By jared steinbeisser, sidney Middle school

Community changesBy james rohner, sidney Middle schoolIn the past few years, our community

has changed with the oil activity. I feel that the gas prices have risen a lot, and the population has increased also.

There are a lot of good people that have come to Sidney from all over the U.S. to get jobs here, such as my friends from California and Idaho. I also met a family from Utah this summer, they were all great people. On the down side of people coming here is there is a lot more crime, but a good thing is that we have more people to occupy the jobs that need to be done.

The traffic is a bit of a pain. It takes a

lot longer than it used to, to get through town, especially in the morning, when everyone is going to work, lunch and around 5 p.m., when everyone is leaving work. It’s not as bad as it was last year when the roads were packed with semis.

People that came here, helped our schools and community grow. We are a lot more careful around here now, be-cause you don’t know a lot of the people that have came here. Most of the people are nice and have families. I have made some friends that have just moved here and they are great kids.

I don’t think our community was ready for the oil boom. I guess that’s why it’s called a boom, because it hap-pened so fast. Those are changes that I think have affected Sidney, Montana.

Things recharging in Sidney MT, people are starting to lock their doors. Now, this can be for a number of rea-sons, the main one is that there are so many people we don’t know in town. We went from a small quiet town to a busy and loud town! We are being forced to take precautions to ensure the safety of our family.

One of the other reasons people are

locking their doors is the number of homeless people risen is Sidney. On a personal note, the Methodist Church held a free dinner and about 3-4 people came. When I was a child I remember thinking homeless people was a city phenomenon not a problem for a small-town like Sidney.

My hope is in the future that the new people that are new to our small town become part of our community and not just people living in our town.

Lock the locksBy Kasey Gorder, sidney Middle school

W.L. Neu Construction, Inc., created by Josh Aisenbrey, sixth grade, Sidney Middle School


The community of Sidney, Montana, has changed in many different ways in the last two years with the increase of oil activity. Population, traffic, and hous-ing are three major impacts that have caused Sidney to thrive since the boom. We’ve lost many businesses, but we’ve gained many as well.

The population has increased rapidly in the last two years, causing noticeably more diversity traffic, business, and construction. Although most people believe having more diversity is a good thing, having less housing is not. That is one of the few downsides caused from the boom. Many newcomers are finding it rather difficult to buy a house, choosing to buy a camper or RV instead. Luckily, more houses and even

subdivisions are being built to provide better comfort, privacy, and safety for these people. More businesses

are being built not only for more job options, but also for more merchandise to meet people’s needs for a bet-ter experience during their stay in Sidney.

Although it is an advantage that new businesses are being built existing ones are finding it difficult to hire more workers or keep the ones they have. Who knows what this struggle will lead to? Many people are won-dering…can we keep our small town charm? Or will the oil field business cause us to spiral?

I believe Sidney is becoming more prosperous, and the oil field business has been a big step forward – occasionally a few steps back. But as our community works together, our town is changing in many ways and becoming more successful.

Sidney: Boom or bust?By Tessa Hill, Sidney Middle School

Sidney is not as it once was. I have grown up in this community knowing everybody and every place but now a lot has changed. I could walk streets without looking over my shoulder or without looking ahead at the person walking toward me. I could go out to eat, greet the waiter, and know who is cooking. I could always sit down at a table and I never had to wait in lines or for service. When we would go anywhere the door was left unlocked the cars were left unlocked and the keys would be left in them but now everybody has

to lock houses and cars.This community hasn’t only declined but has also

positively opened jobs, created business opportuni-ties, and increased population. Oil is a big part of not only North Dakota but towns surrounding it such as Sidney. No town much farther South from Sidney is affected by oil in particular, but has been affected with all the same things such as population and business.

I asked my parents how much our house was when they purchased it; they told me it was forty thousand

dollars. I now look at similar houses as ours from two-hundred thousand dollars to four-hundred thousand dollars. This is only if you are lucky enough to get a house and be able to afford such pricing. Today in and all around this area there are man camps, campers, trailer houses, even in areas not suited for a human.

I never really thought about the changes I have been growing up with until I was questioned and I now real-ize that there are changes all around me.

Changes in your pockets and communityBy Nathan Wick, Sidney Middle School

‘Many people are wondering…can we keep

our small town charm? Or will the oil field

business cause us to spiral?

Tessa HillSidney Middle School student

Screen Play, created by Hailey Carranza, sixth grade, Sidney Middle School


Oil, oil, oil. How could a single fossil fuel change a community? Would it change our small quite town into a roaring city? Will our community know how to react? I have seen many changes in our community since the oil boom, some have been good changes and some I fear, have not been good for our small community.

This oil boom has created jobs for many people. I believe this has been one of the biggest improvements to our community. It has brought jobs to people who needed them the most as if saving there lives, which has impacted a lot of families. Some of these workers have traveled a long way to find work and if it wasn’t for the oil boom in the Bakken their families may not have food on their table.

Another improvement is the new buildings going up in our county such as motels and restaurants which also creates jobs.

But with all these new jobs, means we also have criminals joining our society such as drug dealers, sex offenders and violent offenders. I believe most of our

community doesn’t feel safe anymore as if eliminating our freedom to go places.

I feel this oil boom is hurting our com-munity in many ways. For instance, the retiree that has lived here their entire life. They now have to deal with the rising cost of rent, food and every day supplies. They were comfortable living on what they made every month but now that is almost impossible. I believe greed has taken over a large percent of our community. Some are trying to “cash in” on this boom, making it almost impossible for people with a low income to survive.

So can a single fossil fuel change a community? Yes, I believe it can. I believe it has changed our quite little town. I think our residents no longer feel safe. I also think greed has taken over common sense. It might be ok for the large percent that is receiving an oil check but for the working family and the retiree that is just trying to make a living; this oil boom has been a huge burden on them as if it has taken over their lives.

The oil changeBy Parker jensen, Fairview

What do you think about our commu-nity changing with the oil field? Imagine where we didn’t have the oil boom going on here it was far away and our towns lost a lot of stuff. Was this oil boom sur-prising to you? Why I wanted to write about this is because I think we need to get a couple of good restaurants and some clothing stores. I have noticed that the traffic is crazy busy all the time no matter what. The oil boom has changed our community a lot more than what I thought it would. There are a lot more people and not a lot of stuff to do here.

I have seen over the last couple of years that the community is changing. A couple years ago I was playing night games and this man came up to me and asked for my friend, I went straight to my mom and told her. The next day I asked to go play night games and my mom said I couldn’t go play outside without my mom or my dad anymore. I was very mad, but I realized that it was for my safety. Also I can’t go to friends houses unless my parents know their parents.

The oil is still changing my life around I still can’t do as much as I want to but

it’s for my safety. The oil is still here but there are some good things like we can become rich off of the oil and we are getting some really nice and cool kids in our class. And in our classrooms we are getting some nice TVs, ipads, and smart-boards to help us in school. But some of the negative things are the scary people in the towns and there are getting to be a lot more bars and casinos and all the kid restaurants are always so full and you have to wait for a long time and that is in a lot of the towns, and there is nothing else for the kids to do. Also the gas, groceries, cars, etc. are going up in prices.

The oil field in some ways is changing my life. I can’t do as much as I used to in town. For example I can’t ride my bike around by my self anymore. Also I can’t walk around town with my friends, or even by myself. It’s kind of a bad thing but it’s just for my safety. I have to have my cell phone with me at all times no matter what. Walking alone it is not safe, it’s just a little safer to walk with other friends or family. But in the end the oil boom brought my family closer together.

Changes in our communityBy Bailee Vitt, Fairview

Valley Crop Care, created by Kyla Carlson, fourth grade, West Side Elementary School


Boss, Inc., created by Dylan Churchill fifth grade, Central Elementary School

S/L Services, Inc., created by Carson Nay, fourth grade, West Side Elementary School


Do you remember what it was like before the oil boom? Fair-view reminds me first of a rock then turning into a valuable rock. There were less people, not as much traffic, a smaller amount of parents worried and less drunken people. But, now little Fairview has become way larger town. In the present day Fairview there is extra help wanted, more people looking for jobs and people from all over the country and different countries coming for just the oil boom. Now Fairview isn’t as small of a town as it used to be, more teachers, new students, different unfamiliar faces. Can you still re-call no rapid cars on the highway as much, scarcely anyone in line for grocery stores?

In the past couple of years there has been people com-ing and leaving Fairview. The causes of this is because of the oil boom with people not hav-ing jobs where they live, so in conclusion they move all around watching for jobs and came

here. Many different people have come around looking for jobs in Montana and North Dakota. They come from all the way from Maine to Montana. Now with the population increasing, there has been an enormous increase on buying houses or renting them for a good price. With that a lot of families have slight money left over for making ends meet. People that have average money and a big family have troubles with paying off bills. There has been more help wanted in grocery stores, shopping places, and many other places. With that then businesses go can bankrupt, then with a new owner will more than likely convert into bars and casinos.

Now with all the oil boom peo-ple here, now parents are sterner about where their kids are going, who they are with, curfews, and checking in with them on certain times. Even on the roads people are more cautiousness with drunk drivers not paying attention. On the other hand,

school doesn’t take money out of parents’ taxes, so that way they have more money to give you. Also, prices on gas have gone down and for grocery items a lot of them have gone down too.

Less traffic, not as much of unfamiliar people or strangers, and less bars, this leads to less drunken people. But, that was the old small town Fairview, now it is not that big of a town, on the other hand it isn’t the small-est. Well like I have said that there has been hundreds and hundreds of people approach-ing and departing Fairview and the community. Many jobs have been hired and still need assis-tance with the company. Houses have been built for big families and taken down. Then build even larger and improved houses than it used to be. So with my essay Fairview has been through many of things, but is still the same old Fairview, Montana. So how has Fairview improved you and your community?

Small town turns into big townBy neissa jensen, Fairview

Most of the kids writing this essay will probably write about the increase in population and traffic or the decrease in personal safety, but I tried to avoid that. These changes I mention may not have been noticed by others, but I know I have.

One of the unusual chang-es that I have noticed is there are now kids at different schools that play sports. It’s like a duck on a new pond. This means that I will have new kids to guard when we go to play that school. Some of these kids may even be decent players. And just that one player could change how a whole team plays.

For example, when we go to play other teams, we have a new kid that other teams haven’t seen before and they have to make that change to defend that player.

Another change I have noticed is that I have been

given stricter curfews. By tightening the belt, this means I can’t stay out so long. In addition now we have to stay indoors during nights.

And, last but not least my parents always want to know where we are. As you can see my parents have tightened the rules about being out at night because of the increase in population and the increase of crimes. For example, I know that in Williston the crime rate has increased due to the oil field and what comes with it.

As I said before, you may or may not have seen these changes before but I have. They have affected my life and maybe yours too.

If you haven’t seen these changes before maybe you could look for them. I hope I’m not the only one that notices these changes.

Changes around meBy Tanner reynolds, Fairview

Pizza House, created by Codi Hasvold, sixth grade, Sidney Middle School


Getting new people in our community is not always a bad thing. It can be a good thing too. People are mov-ing to our town to get jobs. Except most people moving here want to work for the oil field, which leaves some of our restaurants without employees. Housing is getting really expensive around here. So some people coming to our community are living in their campers or in their cars.

New people coming here are affecting those of us that have lived here our whole life. Our stop lights are getting longer and we are having more traffic ac-cidents. The schools have so many kids coming and

going because people are going where the oil goes.The oil boom has completely changed our commu-

nity. Our community is growing, we are getting a lot more houses being built, new stores are opening, new restaurants such as Asian Gardens has opened, and new hotels have been built.

Our community used to be little, but now it is grow-ing bigger. Some people are coming here to stay and make a life here, but have no place to live. There have been a lot of changes around here and we hope to make our community better.

Our communityBy Taylor Schepens, Sidney Middle School

In the last few years, our little community has gone through many changes. With people of all nationali-ties coming in to live near the oil to work, longtime residents of Sidney are finding it hard to adapt to see-ing all of the new faces everywhere they look.

Lifelong resident Brenda Jones had to say this, “It’s amazing how the economy can change our small town in such a small amount of time.” A huge problem that

comes with the increase of people is traffic. With the large increase in vehicles driving on the roads, car ac-cidents happen. Since the oil boom started, there have been hundreds of fatal vehicle related accidents.

With the huge influx of people, the housing market in and around Sidney has skyrocketed. An average 3-bedroom house can sell anywhere from $200,000 to $600,000, that’s ridiculous!

Not to be left out, crime levels have risen by about 50% since the oil was discovered. In fact, they have risen so much that the Sidney Police Department has had to hire two new officers from the original 11 in the last two years to control it. With all of the changes happening to the community and it’s people, we’re all a little overwhelmed.

Sidney community changes: Good or bad?By Landan jones, Sidney Middle School

‘New people coming here are affecting those

of us that have lived here our whole life.’

Taylor SchepensSidney Middle School student

The Depot, Casino, Pizza and Fine Foods, created by Kylee Lambert, fourth grade, West Side Elementary School


North Star Auto Body & Sales, created by Harmony Omsberg, fifth grade, Central Elementary School

Sonda’s Solutions, created by Madison Hammer, sixth grade, Sidney Middle School


Have you ever thought about if you could change something, how you’d change it and why? Well I’ve got the chance to think about this question, and I came up with some pretty good an-swers, and some pretty good solutions.

One example of schools changing is new students; Fairview School has got-ten 20 new students already this year. You make more and sometimes better friends, and try to make them more comfortable in their new environment. We’ve gotten so many new students and substitute teachers, they”re all so nice and have their own reasons for coming here.

I’ll tell you about that later, there are also safety rules throughout the school, locking the door all the time, only getting to leave the classroom besides; between classes. Some students don’t think it’s good or fair, what happened in Connecticut is on the other side of the U.S.A. So why are we starting to protect our school. Well, what happened was so random, no one expected anything like that to happen. We don’t want it to hap-pen to our town. With all the new people that moved here. We have to be prepared

for anything.We have had so many new people, our

community decided to do something about it. They’ve been working on put-ting a stop light in Fairview. It took a lot of planning and thinking where the stop light would go, how to get the word out, how and when they were going to put it up, all that takes people to plan, and time to get it done.

People have also been driving like cra-zy, to fast, swerving on ice, it’s always different. My community has also been smoothing hills, on County Road 140 they didn’t get to pave them this year, so they have to wait till this summer. It will be great for the semi’s and also all the traffic.

There’s been an increase in popula-tion, so we’re getting more restaurants, more kids at school, less room, more strangers, we’re making our communi-ty bigger, but bigger isn’t always better, remember that.

We need to keep trying to put a stop to all the accidents from reckless driving...So let’s start! Let’s not wait a month, or weeks, or days, let’s start trying to improve our community today!

Changes in our communityBy Emma Skov, Fairview

What if there wasn’t an oil boom we would not have the stuff we have now. If the oil moved her there would have not been as many casinos opening and I would be able to walk by myself. But sometimes I can walk by myself. I remember when my cousin lived here we told my parents we would be back in an hour or so and we were still walking at pitch dark.

Here is just a couple, we have got-ten new computers for elementary and high school labs. Also every class room has gotten smartboards. I really enjoy having smartboards because in math we have your lesson on them, and we also use them in history. We also have them in language. Last year we used the smartboard to do some literary devices and look at some plants and animals to do your research on.

Right now in my school we have gotten new floors in both of our gyms. Also all of the teachers have gotten iPads. I think that everyone should be able to get iPads for our school. But they do cost a lot of money but since the oil has moved here. I think that we could use them for sci-ence, maybe math and history. In history

we could use them to your notes instead of having to write them down. The oil has changed my life like a horse.

Another thing that happened is that we have got new boilers. They cost the school like half a million that the kids can be warm. But most all of the kids wear sweatshirts in the winter in class, so I didn’t really think that we needed the heat. I think that we could of got a air conditioner instead of a heater. Be-cause we get really hot in the summer, I think that we could be able to have water on hot days. It’s like a ball of fire on hot days. Another thing that we might get is a new track. That track that we have now is a dirt track. I want a rubber track so that you don’t get rocks in your shoes

What do you think will happen in your school?

How oil changed your communityBy Kassidy Schriver, Fairview

‘Also every class room has

gotten smartboards.’

Kassidy SchriverFairview student

The Lodge, created by JausLynn Niblock, fourth grade, West Side Elementary School


Well as everyone knows in the town of Sidney, the community has changed over the last couple of years with the oil boom that’s here.

With the oil boom there’s oil activity that’s moving into the Richland County

area, but there are bad things and good things about the oil activity in our area and when people hear the words “oil activity” or “oil boom” they think it’s bad and horrible, they don’t think about

the good things. There are good things for our com-

munity with the oil activity like more money for buildings to go up which means more jobs for people and more money the town of Sidney gets for the community to have things and make Sidney a better place. It helps things like keeping the roads updated and nice to drive on. The amount of jobs that are here are good. It makes it good for people that work to support their families, and the economy in this town is good here for everyone and shows how good of a place Sidney can be. But always with oil activity there is some not so good of things that come with it. One big one is more people coming in when there isn’t enough housing for them so they try their best to get housing and some can’t get it so they live in campers or in some person’s basement that charge outra-geous rent.

With more people, comes more crimes. The safety is less for people that are out there and people don’t think about their safety and how dangerous it is, also with it is that things cost more. Things in the grocery store cost a lot more, housing is over market in our area. That’s partially why people can’t get housing because they can’t afford it.

Oil changesBy jacob rogers, sidney Middle school

‘It makes it good for people that

work to support their families,

and the economy in this town

is good here for everyone and

shows how good of a place Sidney

can be.’

Jacob Rogerssidney Middle school student

I think that there are some good things and also some bad things about how oil has changed our community. Some of the good things have to do with housing and development. For example, we now have new housing companies and more housing being built. We have new motels, and also new apartment complexes.

However, unfortunately, with the good almost always comes the bad. We may have a lot of new housing that we may have to offer, but that doesn’t mean

people will always be able to afford the housing we have to offer, leaving some people out on the streets, and in camp-ers. We have also gained new businesses to eat at or whatever the case may be. With new businesses also comes a lot more job opportunities. This means that some of the people coming from out of town can find good jobs fairly easily. And with oil also comes the jobs on the oil rigs that have long days and high pay. With more people come a greater chance/higher number of crimes. In all, there is good and bad about the recently found oil, in my opinion, I am all for the newly discovered oil.

Community changeBy Caden Medina, sidney Middle school

I moved to Sidney only a year-and-a-half ago so I have not seen Sidney at its beginning stage till now, yet in the last year-and-a-half Sidney has still grown a large amount.

Sidney has gone from being some far off prairie town in Montana to part of “the big BOOM”. This brings a lot of change, some good and some not so great. On one hand the market for farmers and ranchers has increased, yet there’s more traffic.

The influx of people has forced us to build more homes and hotels. Three new motels have been built in 2011 and many, many new homes since 2010. The issue of population can be thought of a good thing or a bad, there is more business, yet Sidney hasn’t grown big enough to hold everyone new coming here. All in all, I believe that Sidney is a great town that can, someday, be even more great.

By Morgan Barnett, sidney Middle school

Richland Pump & Supply, created by Cierra Larson, fifth grade, Central Elementary School


Farm Bureau Financial Services, created by Silas Watson, fifth grade, Central Elementary School

Yellowstone Chiropractic, created by Carlee Strasheim, sixth grade, Sidney Middle School


Isn’t it amazing how a community can change so dramatically in just a few years? How has your community changed? Well, my local community has changed very much over the years and it has been growing in population like a weed. So, why is this sudden change happening?

Our town’s transformation has mainly resulted because of the oil boom and the many jobs that are in the oil industry. There is so much oil in our area that the land could burst with oil. It is a golden opportunity for adults who need jobs. Yet this affects more than just adults, it affects children of all ages, too.

For instance, the heavy traffic on our streets from trucks coming through our town can make it difficult for chil-dren to get across. In reaction to this problem, my community put up stop lights to let children and adults have easier access to getting across main streets and highways.

Meanwhile, at the schools, more kids whose parents moved here to get jobs in the oil field or in other areas are packing the schools. Our communities will have to start expanding or build-

ing new schools and hiring more teach-ers. This is helpful to our community because this offers more jobs to people who need them.

Because of oil funds from the oil boom, our school has been able to afford new equipment for enhanced learning, such as, Smart boards, stron-ger security equipment, televisions, new sports equipment and upgraded computers. This kind of equipment and technology helps students better understand education and keep them safe.

Speaking of safety, it is important to keep children safe in a growing community. When a community starts growing, the crime can rise. So it is im-portant for parents to make sure their kids are safe. Some ideas are setting curfews and locking doors.

As our community grows, lives and breathes, other communities do the same thing because of the oil boom. But, even as this as happening, we must not be distracted by this and focus on the future. That is what will keep our communities strong and thriving. I for one am positive about our communities’ future, are you?

Our communities: Now and thenBy sean Conlin, Fairview

There have been many things chang-ing in our community. In the last few years, Sidney resident’s lives have changed, some, more than others, for better or for worse.

There has been an increase in traffic, population, jobs, and prices. Most of the people moving here are nice people, but there’s always a “bad egg”. The higher the population grows, the better the chance that a “bad egg” will find its way into our community.

Sidney residents would leave their doors unlocked when they were away because they had nothing to be afraid about. If we did that now, you could come home to an empty house. When we went outside at night, we didn’t need to worry about our safety. As our popula-tion grows, we begin to fear more and more for our safety, and for our family’s safety. Our community has changed excessively in the last few years.

ChangeBy seth Ullman, sidney Middle school

The community has changed in population due to the oil. We are meet-ing new people every day, and if you ask them why they moved here, most of them say because of the oil. With more people here there are more jobs.

The increasing population has affect-ed our school system by having to move kids to different schools. The traffic has

increased as well, due to population. A couple years ago it took about three minutes to get to school, now it takes five or six.

If you like to hunt you may have some trouble finding where to do that at. There are oil wells in a lot of spots so you can’t. My dad’s company has to do with trucking and they have trouble getting places that are far away in time. So if you meet someone that just moved here, ask them why.

Changes in my communityBy Trace jones, sidney Middle school

Sidney Health Center, created by Nicolas Trevino, fifth grade, Central Elementary School

creative kids

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