Oil Series- Keene- City - KXNet - Bismarck/Minot/Williston/Dickinson

Oil Series- Keene- City

The affects of oil continue to spread across western North Dakota.
Tonight our oil series travels takes us to the small town of Keene looking at the recent spike in activity and traffic.
Jordan Pederson has more..

When long time resident Nancy Rolfsrud walks through the streets of her small town.. she can't help but notice all of the little changes... that are starting to add up..
(Nancy Rolfsrud, Resident, Keene, North Dakota) "We thought we kind of lived rural and then, now the truck stop is right beside our house."
Truck traffic is heavy right outside Keene.
So much so that residents are hesitant to pull out onto the highway.
(Nancy Rolfsrud, Resident, Keene, North Dakota) "We all think about whether we want to put our teenage kids out in a car on these roads."
The heavy travel even has teenagers shying away from the wheel.
(Nancy Rolfsrud, Resident, Keene, North Dakota) "There are some kids that aren't driving that are old enough to be driving but were, they are a little hesitant too."
As for in town... there are just about as many campers and trucks as there are houses.
(Nancy Rolfsrud, Resident, Keene, North Dakota) "With the camper-trailers and stuff being rented to the truckers, they have trucks and there is no where for them to park. So they have been parking on the side of the street, you know, anywhere they can but it clogs the streets so bad."
Here in Keene, you won't find a single stop sign posted, but you will find plenty of these signs posted.
(Nancy Rolfsrud, Resident, Keene, North Dakota) "We are having issues with that and it just doesn't work very well."

Keene has a new Cenex building in the works and already the parking lot is filling up with trucks.
The volunteer-based fire hall has been busier with oil related accidents.
And the post office closed a few years ago.. right before the boom hit Keene.
(Nancy Rolfsrud, Resident, Keene, North Dakota) "They closed the post office here in Keene and the closest place was Newtown or Watford to get boxes and Watford has a waiting list."
The town now has a multi-mailbox located at the Cenex.. and all boxes are occupied,
 which means families living in campers have no way of receiving mail.
Keene's sewer system is also at capacity.
(Nancy Rolfsrud, Resident, Keene, North Dakota) "And more trailers being added in to that, we are not sure it is going to handle it."
Since Keene is an unincorporated community... resources are limited.
(Nancy Rolfsrud, Resident, Keene, North Dakota) "There is no tax base for, you know, fixing our situation."
But one situation Rolfsrud took charge of years ago has proven to be a worthwhile project.
(Nancy Rolfsrud, Resident, Keene, North Dakota) "
And it was a good move on her part
(Nancy Rolfsrud, Resident, Keene, North Dakota) "
In Keene, Jordan Pederson, KX News.