The Raymond Family Community Center is now limiting access to its facility after some homeless oil boom workers created problems.

WILLISTON, N.D. – Officials here are limiting access to a community center used by many homeless oil boom workers after human waste was found in a hallway.

Larry Grondahl, president of the Williston Park Board, said the Raymond Family Community Center has seen an increase in the number of people who use the facility to shower because they live in campers or sleep in their cars.

That has caused problems with people trashing the bathrooms and leaving beard trimmings and hair all over, Grondahl said.

“There are some people who are coming here who don’t give a darn about Williston,” Grondahl said. “It just became time where we needed to take it back for our community instead of turning it into a homeless shelter.”

Transients also loiter in the center for long periods using the wireless Internet and make members with families uncomfortable, he said.

The concerns mounted this week when human waste was found near the door and in the hallway after someone apparently defecated there or close by, Grondahl said. The facility’s restrooms are open to the public.

Human waste also has been found in the showers in the past, he said.

Now the center is limiting the hours people can shower and only selling yearly memberships, rather than the monthly memberships that were causing the problems.

The picnic tables and TV have been removed from the room where people loitered and a password is now required to access the Internet. Staff also are getting estimates for security cameras for the facility.

Grondahl said he feels bad for the 95 percent of people who are good people, but the other 5 percent is ruining it for everyone.

Jessica Ames, a Williston mother of four, said she didn’t like taking her kids to dance classes anymore because men would make comments as they walked by and she didn’t feel comfortable letting her children use the bathroom.

Ames also plays volleyball at the community center and stopped bringing her children along to watch her play.

She’s happy the center is implementing the changes.

“It’s nice now,” Ames said Thursday.

Eddie Williams, who moved to Williston from Michigan, is living in his car while he looks for work. Williams said he occasionally showers at the Raymond Center with a monthly membership that will no longer be available. But he said he understands why the new rules were implemented.

“It’s not fair to some of us, but we’re newcomers,” Williams said.

Mayor Ward Koeser the incident at the center is similar to the issue that’s causing city leaders to consider making it illegal to live in a camper parked outside of a campground. Some of the concerns he hears from residents are people who dispose of waste improperly or step outside the camper to urinate.

“You have a limited number of people who are behaving badly,” Koeser said.

Grondahl said the majority of men who used the showers were good stewards, and some even grabbed mops and brooms to help clean.

“It’s not everybody,” Grondahl said. “It’s too bad that a few people have to ruin it for everybody.”

Opponents of a proposed RV ban raised their hands to show their stance on the ordinance during a Williston City Commission meeting Tuesday. Amy Dalrymple/Forum Communications

WILLISTON, N.D. – City commissioners here delayed a decision on a proposed RV ban after an overflow crowd overwhelmingly opposed it Tuesday.

Commissioners decided to give people 30 days to submit comments on a proposal that would make it illegal to live in a camper that is not part of an RV park.

Many opponents, including Shannon Michels, who was representing Kum & Go convenience stores, told commissioners the city will lose its workforce if the ban moves forward. Seventy-three percent of her employees live in campers because they can’t afford $2,500 rent, she said.

“If they make it so we can’t have campers, we’ll have to shut our doors,” Michels said. “We have no place to put them.”

Maeve MacSteves, owner of R. Rooster BBQ, said her business is thriving because of employees she has living on her property.

“You’re going to see businesses close,” MacSteves said.

Commissioners heard public comments for 45 minutes, with two people speaking in favor of the ban. Williston resident Melissa Meyer said she lives in a single-family home that is surrounded by RVs and junk cars, including a house across the street that has become a man camp. Meyer said she’s afraid to let her children play in the yard.

An apartment building manager said she has to call police to chase RVs off the property.

Mayor Ward Koeser asked for a show of hands from the audience to gauge their stance on the ban, and most raised their hands to oppose it.

Koeser, who called the proposed ban the most challenging decision in his 18 years as mayor, said commissioners understand this ordinance is going to cause turmoil.

The police department receives about five complaints per day and commissioners are trying to balance the needs of the long-term residents with the newcomers, Koeser said. Police Chief James Lokken said police cited an RV resident on Tuesday for dumping sewage on the ground in a residential area. Police also take complaints about noise and people urinating outside, Lokken said.

Officials worry about fire hazards, particularly with several RVs parked close together.

“If one goes up, they’re all going to go up,” Lokken said.

Lokken estimated at a past meeting there are 300 to 400 campers throughout the community in driveways, streets and parking lots. The proposed ordinance would make living in an RV a misdemeanor and subject to a $500 fine.

Commissioner Brent Bogar said leaders recognize that most RV residents don’t cause any problems.

“At the same time, it creates an impact on the city that we cannot ignore,” Bogar said, adding that RV residents don’t pay property taxes that support city services.

Koeser said new RV parks are going in, including one the city improved in an industrial park that will accommodate 600 to 700 units. Williams County also has RV parks in the works, Koeser said.

The commissioners will consider the comments they receive and discuss the ban again May 22. If the ban is approved, commissioners will likely give people some time to comply.

Commissioner Tate Cymbaluk said leaders are trying to figure out when the RV parks will be ready and make adequate time adjustments.

“We’re not going to kick you guys under the bus, not today, not tomorrow, not next month,” Cymbaluk said.

David Knuckles, who moved to North Dakota from Kentucky, sits on a cot at Concordia Lutheran Church in Williston, where he slept for two weeks before finding a job that provided housing. Amy Dalrymple/Forum Communications

WILLISTON, N.D. – David Knuckles is proud of the time he spent training Iraqi police officers and helping that country rebuild, but it meant spending a lot of time away from his son.

Now the Oil Patch is offering a chance for them to rebuild their relationship and have steady employment.

David, 47, and his son Mitchell, 18, arrived in Williston from Kentucky about three weeks ago.

David spent nearly seven years training Iraqi police officers, something he signed up to do in response to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks because he was too old to join the military.

“I thought that it would be my way of doing something for 9/11,” said David, 47. “I got over there and I enjoyed the work.”

After returning from Iraq eight months ago, the former police officer had a difficult time finding work in the Louisville area.

Mitchell Knuckles

While his father was in Iraq, Mitchell dropped out of high school. He also was struggling to get consistent work in Kentucky, where the unemployment rate is 8.6 percent, just above the national average of 8.2 percent and well above the 3.1 percent jobless rate in North Dakota.

The two decided to move to North Dakota to look for job opportunities and to spend time together after living apart for so long.

“There’s something uniquely American about what’s going on here as far as people who are willing to come here and follow the opportunity,” David said.

The father and son had done their homework, so they knew housing would be tough to find in Williston. They planned to either sleep in their vehicle or pitch tents, but ended up sleeping on cots at Concordia Lutheran Church while they searched for jobs that provided housing.

Mitchell found a job first, working for a lawn service. David also worked for the lawn service on days he wasn’t job hunting.

“There’s plenty of work to do here just to get some money coming in until you get something more permanent,” David said.

Last week, David began working as an overnight supervisor at the Williston Walmart, and Mitchell began working one of the crew members.

The job includes housing at a crew camp in Watford City and transportation back and forth.

“Finding a job that has housing becomes everything,” David said. “That becomes a priority, not what the work is.”

While in North Dakota, Mitchell also plans to pursue a GED and earn a driver’s license.

“It’s really a fresh start,” Mitchell said.

David moved to North Dakota with plans to relocate. Mitchell, whose mother and two siblings remain in Kentucky, isn’t sure how long he will be in North Dakota.

Mitchell said he’s enjoying the chance to be with his father, who had leave from Iraq about every six or seven months.

“It’s been great. I can’t really explain it,” Mitchell said. “It’s different, but it’s a good different.”

WILLISTON, N.D. – You’ve heard about the trucker bombs and the bar fights.

You’ve heard about the new sex offenders who have moved to the state and the increase in police calls associated with oil development.

But have you heard about the guy in a pickup who eagerly offered to pay for a stranger’s car wash?

Or the truck driver who offered food off his plate to someone he just met?

Or the construction workers who used their one day off to unload a couple’s U-Haul?

You haven’t heard about them because these aren’t the stories we in the media typically cover.

But these are the guys I’ve met in my two months in Williston, and I’d like to tell you about them.

During my first weekend here, I took advantage of a warm February day to go through the car wash. The sign on the building said the car wash accepted credit cards, so I thought I would be OK even though I didn’t have the correct change.

But after waiting in line, I got to the credit card machine and found out it was broken. I couldn’t just leave because a long line of vehicles waited behind me.

I hopped out of my car and asked the guy in a pickup behind me if he had change for a $20. Without hesitation, he gave me enough cash to pay for the car wash. In the meantime, a second guy stopped and asked if I needed help.

This was my first clue that I hadn’t been hearing the full story about guys in the Oil Patch.

That realization grew after I started attending a few community dinners that are geared for newcomers.

During one dinner, a truck driver I’d just met noticed that my piece of roast beef was a little grisly. He was worried that I wasn’t getting enough to eat and offered me some of the meat from his plate.

His friend, another truck driver I’d met a few times, told me to clean up my language after I slipped and said a four-letter word, forgetting that we were in a church.

Who would have thought that I’d be the one with foul language in the Wild West?

The strongest impression that has been left on me came from some construction workers who were temporarily living in an apartment in my building.

My husband and I didn’t have anyone lined up to help us move into our apartment. We don’t have family here and a friend who had offered to help had to work that weekend.

So we started unloading by ourselves, but we were exhausted after spending the previous two days moving out of our Fargo apartment and driving in winter weather to Williston.

We needed help.

Out of desperation, I asked a guy who happened to hold a door for me if he could help us for even a half hour.

He agreed, and before I knew it, he was back with at least five other guys.

It turned out that they were the workers responsible for doing the siding for my building and some neighboring buildings. I had seen them working long hours, six days a week, and this was their one day off.

They moved everything into our third-floor apartment in less than two hours. And they made it look easy, including an incredible feat of strength where they lifted our grill over a living room full of furniture.

If it wasn’t for them, we’d probably still be unloading that U-Haul.

I know there are some bad apples among the new residents of the Oil Patch, but I haven’t met them yet. I’m finding that the majority are hard-working people who are seeking opportunities in North Dakota.

I hope to continue telling their stories. If you have a story you think I should tell, please contact me at adalrymple@forumcomm.com or (701) 580-6890.