Some persons around McKenzie County have reckless regard for the life of animals, but authorities are tracking them down.

District Game and Fish Warden Brent Schwan said 15 deer, five antelope and one elk were poached in the county during the month of September.

"These animals appear to have been shot just for the kill," he said. "No meat or antlers were taken, and some of the animals were shot numerous times after they were down."

Some individuals have been caught, and he is still hoping to prove the involvement of others.

Schwan said poachers typically don't kill just once, and they tend to target big game.

Depending on the situation, poachers face up to one year in jail, a $2,000 fine, confiscation of their weapons and suspension of hunting privileges.

"Being in the field is a big responsibility," he said. "People who abuse that responsibility need to be held responsible."

Authorities have stepped up nighttime patrols in McKenzie County, and the Game and Fish Department will conduct flyovers there to keep an eye on things and hopefully catch a poacher in the act.

In the meantime, the department asks people to use its Report All Poachers hotline at 800-472-2121 to report suspicious activity.

- McKenzie County Farmer

Windy times

Developers have big plans for the wind down in Logan and Emmons county.

Just Wind president and founder Jeff Metzger of Mound, Minn., met with landowners from around Strasburg recently to talk about plans for a 400-turbine project in Emmons County.

He said more leased land is needed for the project, and he encouraged landowners who have signed lease letters to talk to their neighbors who have not.

"The future of the project depends on the acres of land committed, and the income potential will depend on the number of wind mills erected," he said.

Landowners who sign up now will get $2 an acre as a option to hold the land, and the option expires if construction does not start within five years. Once in operation, landowners will receive $4,000 annually for every turbine on their property.

"If everyone signs up, Strasburg would have the biggest wind farm in the world," he said.

Meanwhile, Just Wind is putting together a wind project in Logan County, planning for 160 turbines on 55,000 acres. The Public Service Commission will hold a public meeting on that project at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at the Logan County Courthouse in Napoleon.

"By the time we finish at Napoleon, we will be ready to put turbines at Strasburg," Metzger said.

After that, the company is eyeing a project that would incorporate Hazelton and Campbell County, S.D.

- Emmons County Record

End is nearIt's been a long summer for people traveling between Hazen and Beulah, but the end of a disruptive highway construction project is now in sight.

Gratech Co. of Berthold should finish laying down a first layer of asphalt by early next week, said Terry Burke, company vice president.

He said the company is slightly overshooting its Oct. 11 completion date and is negotiating the daily penalties assessed for missing it.

The final layer of asphalt will go down next spring.

The roadwork slowed traffic between the two communities and hundreds of people who drive Highway 200 daily to get to the plant sites found alternate routes, or toughed out the pilot car wait.

A couple of businesses along the way said the summer was hard on customer traffic, but not as bad as it could have been.

"Construction definitely had an effect on business," said Bill Tveit, RDO store manager. "We haven't had normal traffic all summer."

The project involved a complete rebuilding of the road. Steep grades through what are locally called "the buffalo hills," were gentled down, and the road was widened into eight-foot shoulders.

Highway 200 is scheduled for more work. The bypass through Hazen will be improved next summer. Starting in 2012, two stretches of the highway, one from Hazen to the Crossroads, and then from the Crossroads to the intersection of Highway 31 will be improved.

For now, though, locals will enjoy being able to make the quick trip back and forth from Hazen to Beulah without having to go the long way around.

- Hazen Star

Oil on the rails

Mercer County Economic Development has plans for the old Indian Head Mine buildings just outside Zap.

The buildings, acreage and two miles of railroad track are owned by MCED and Curly Haugland of Bismarck, and they are looking at the potential to use the site as a place to load oil onto railroad cars.

About 10 percent of North Dakota's oil production has to get shipped by rail because the pipeline system is maxed out during this new wave of oil drilling in the state.

Rail loading costs about $14 a barrel, while pipeline transport costs about $4 a barrel, say state oil officials.

MCED and Haugland are working with Diamond B of Billings, Mont., which plans to run 10 railcars a day, three days a week, to the site.

To fill the rail tankers would require traffic of about 90 trucks a week.

Under a proposed 10-year lease, Diamond B would pay an annual fee of $15,000 for the Indian Head site. The deal would give $11,250 to Haugland and $3,750 to MCED.

MCED's chairman John Phillips said oil is loaded at rail facilities in Columbus, Ryder and Minot. Those communities don't have any problems with safety because the oil is sweet crude, with only a small amount of toxins like hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide, he said.

"MCED is only doing this to stimulate economic growth," Phillips said. "There is huge upside to this project."

- Beulah Beacon