16 CapitalPress.com
December 8, 2017
Good accountant keeps business fiscally fit
By DIANNA TROYER
For the Capital Press
MALTA, Idaho — An ag-
ricultural well driller in south-
eastern Idaho, Rich Scrivner,
admits he is an accountant’s
nightmare, job security, and
live entertainment with his
sense of humor.
The 68-year-old Malta res-
ident’s bookkeeping system
for his business starts with
receipts.
“I threaten my employees
and remind them to save them
all,” says Scrivner of receipts
for parts, vehicle mainte-
nance, food and other items.
Then he stuffs them in
folders.
“When I get time, I’ll or-
ganize and itemize them. If I
get really behind, my accoun-
tant makes a house call. She
tells me, ‘Look, it’s time to
get it together here.’”
Scrivner says his long-
time accountant, Dot Belveal
in Nampa, is indispensable
because she helps keep his
business fiscally healthy and
prepares his tax returns.
“Plus, she’s patient and
tolerates a client like me,”
says Scrivner, who heard
about her through friends.
“She was a trap shooter and
runs Chesapeake dogs, so I
can relate to that. I’m not the
type who would get along
well with a shirt-and-tie kind
of accountant.”
Belveal, 58, says many of
her clients are rejected by ac-
counting firms.
“I get the ones no one else
wants because they haven’t
filed a tax return for years for
all kinds of personal reasons,”
says Belveal, who named her
business Tax Solutions.
“They hand me a box filled
with papers, and I make sense
of it. Over the years, I’ve
developed a good working
relationship with the (Inter-
nal Revenue Service) office
here in Boise and the state tax
commission and have nego-
tiated settlements on clients’
reconstructed financials.”
Scrivner says last year
Bellveal told him he almost
made some money.
“I might have if I hadn’t
been racing,” he says.
He drives his 1957 Chevy
in the Super Stock division at
quarter-mile drag races in Las
Vegas, Seattle and Portland.
The car advertises his busi-
ness, Able Well Drilling, on
the rear window.
“I wanted a name that was
the beginning of the alphabet, so
people who needed a well drill-
er would see it first when they
flipped open a phone book.”
Dianna Troyer/For the Capital Press
Rich Scrivner says his accountant is vital for preparing his tax return.
Dianna Troyer/For the Capital Press
Rich Scrivner drag races his
1957 Chevrolet around the
Northwest and Nevada during
the off season from his well work.
Scrivner races in summer,
his off-season from drilling
wells.
“From mid-October to
May, it’s go, go, go. Farmers
need the water in summer, so
I do my drilling and main-
tenance during their down
time.”
While Scrivner says he
does not take himself too se-
riously, he takes his work se-
riously.
“When I’m done with a
job, I have a great sense of
accomplishment. Like gold,
silver or copper, water is a
valuable commodity. Unlike
metals, though, you can’t live
without it.”
Scrivner advises irrigators
to maintain their wells.
“It’s a lot cheaper than
drilling a new one.”
Dianna Troyer/For the Capital Press
Rich uses huge bits and “swedges” to repair and drill irrigation wells throughout southeastern Idaho.
He relies on a camera to
help diagnose problems.
“If you’re not using a cam-
era, you’re making an educat-
ed guess about what’s going
on,” he says.
To remove mineral build-
up, Scrivner uses a high-pres-
sure pump that sprays 9 gal-
lons of water a minute at
5,000 pounds of pressure per
square inch.
“That jetter head can make
a casing look new,” he says.
The area’s geology can be
hard on a well, too. A fault
line runs through part of the
Raft River Valley. As the earth
shifts, it often moves the well
casing. To make the casing
straight and round again, he
inserts a “swedge” and ap-
plies pressure.
Scrivner says drilling
wells has been a gratifying
career for decades.
“Every job is different.
You never know what you’ll
run into. I’m like most well
drillers. The only way I’ll quit
is when I die on the back of
a rig.”
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