Bcp 11 6 15

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RHAME

THIS & THAT

Kaczmarek pens final weekly column

Fun had during Fright Fest in Bowman

News » Page 2

Opinion » Page 6

Community » Page 4

Court upholds restraining order

HALLOWEEN

TODAY’S WEATHER

Breezy with some sun

High 41º Low 27º

2014 & 2015 NDNA AWARD WINNER

Full forecast on Page 5

Friday, November 6, 2015

VOL. 110 NO. 45

$1.00

BOWMANEXTRA.com

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THE OIL PATCH

Denbury making moves to ready CO2 flooding in county Prep for flooding could take years; pipeline construction to begin 2018

By BRYCE MARTIN

Pioneer Editor bmartin@countrymedia.net Oil giant Denbury Resources Inc. is making moves on its plans for a future in Bowman County. But they are small moves. The Texas-based company was granted a utility permit Oct. 3 by the Bowman County Board of Commissioners that will ultimately be used to secure electricity connections for future

sites in the area. Ross Campbell, manager of industrial relations for Denbury, told the Pioneer that obtaining the permit was one of many stages in the company’s plan to flood existing oil wells in the county with carbon dioxide. That plan was first announced two years ago. “(The permit) will be for CO2 flooding in the future, like many years down the road,” Campbell said. “We just wanted to get the permit to get power to where we

A carbon dioxide injection site used for CO2 flooding of an oil reservoir. think we might need it in the future.” The permit allows for the company to bore under Sunset Butte Road in the western part of the county. Denbury, which has a field of-

fice in Rhame, has had an overall reduction in its spending plans for this year. More recently, the company faced even more reductions as a result of belowaverage oil prices. “What we’re trying to do is

make sure that we have the permits at hand to get back to work when prices come back to a more normal level that allows us to make an economic return,” Campbell explained. With the planned CO2 enhanced oil recovery, Campbell said they have to be much more thoughtful about what the future potentially could need. But the process is a long one. That’s due to the extensive infrastructure necessary for such an operation. It’s a more involved commitment for the long-term compared to fracking. “When we’re flooding a well, it’s a multi-year—potentially even longer than that—worth of lead time,” he confirmed.

DENBURY | PAGE 2

Powder River plans first large-scale training exercise

r u O g n i Honor VETERAN’S DAY IS NOVEMBER 11

s n a r e t Ve

■ Southwest North Dakota can expect to see low-flying aircraft By BRYCE MARTIN

Pioneer Editor bmartin@countrymedia.net Next month will mark the first large-force exercise in the newly expanded Powder River Training Complex, PRTC, an issue that stirred up much debate in the region over the last few years. Scheduled for Dec. 2 and 3, the exercise will impact people living under the Powder River’s 2, 3 and Gap B military areas. Those areas include the cities of Bowman, Rhame, Scranton, Marmarth and Baker, Mont. People in those areas can expect to see multiple types of aircraft using the airspace, and reaching altitudes as low as 500 feet above ground. The exercise is designed to train aircrew under realistic scenarios that support full spectrum operations against modern threats and replicate today’s contingency operations, according to Lt. Rachel Allison, public affairs chief of the 28th Bomb Wing. Large force exercises, colloquially known as war games, are the employment of military resources in training for military operations, either exploring the effects of warfare or testing strategies without actual combat. This type of training is limited to 10 days each year, with each exercise lasting no more than three days, and only occurring

Martin Rolfsness. (Photo by Bryce Martin/Pioneer)

At 96, Martin Rolfsnes can still vividly recall stories from his military service

M

aking an emergency landing in the cold waters of the swelling Pacific Ocean is like hitting a brick wall. That’s how Martin Rolfsnes described it as he recalled one of his many perilous expeditions while serving in the U.S. Navy. Rolfsnes had arrived at Pearl Harbor two years after the Japanese attacked the island of Oahu. He was carried on the USS Princeton, a Navy light aircraft carrier, along with its crew, torpedo planes and dive bombers. From the airport on Pearl Harbor, Rolfsnes engaged in practice combat against the Air Force stationed on Oahu. Much like a previous experience, his plane suffered engine failure and made a crash landing in the Pacific. He made it out alive. “We were rescued by a destroyer, given a shot of whiskey, put to bed and returned to port,” Rolfsnes said. ROLFSNES | PAGE 3

COMMUNITY

The Hettinger-Scranton Night Hawks defeated the Mott-Regent Wildfire last weekend to advance to the semifinals. PAGE 10

Donald Brown of Scranton claimed last month the annual title of Farmer/Rancher of the Year. PAGE 12

INDEX

Sports................ 10-11

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Obituaries................ 7

AIRCRAFT | PAGE 2

WANT MORE?

SPORTS

Night Hawks can’t be stopped

once every three months. During the scheduled times for the exercise, non-military aircraft are suggested to review the Federal Aviation Administration’s Notices to Airmen, NOTAMs, and review flight plans to avoid the areas and altitudes where aircraft will be participating, Allison stated. The new PRTC officially opened Sept. 17, with military operations beginning the following day. “It’s crucial that we keep our rural towns healthy, and our local economies thriving by continuing to secure the access of our pilots, airports and businesses need to do their jobs throughout this expansion in Powder River,” Sen. Heidi Heitkamp said in a statement earlier this year. The most pressing issue brought up by local aviation authorities and residents during the complex’s public input sessions was the altitude at which several of the military aircraft would fly, notably over Bowman which has been designated in the plans as a low area, at which crafts could fly at a minimum of 500 feet above ground. Other areas involved in the expansion, such as Hettinger, have been designated as high areas,

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Chamber names farmer/rancher of year

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Opinion................ 6

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Church Directory................ 7

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Classifieds/Legals................8

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Briefs................ 2

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Community............. 4-5


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