DENTON, Texas – It was almost dinnertime when an ice cream truck lazily made its way through the North Texas subdivision. A few kids came running. Maile Bush’s children weren’t among them, because she won’t let them go outside.

The family moved to Denton for their slice of heaven. That was, she said, before the fracking industry came knocking.

“You constantly live in a state of terror because you have no idea what they're doing precisely and they don't tell you,” Bush said. “But your home is at risk. Your family is at risk.”

Located 40 miles north of Dallas, Denton sits atop the Barnett Shale, one of the largest natural gas deposits in the nation. The Barnett Shale is also home to the most intensive gas drilling operations ever attempted in an urban area. Now Bush is sandwiched between a gas well and a compressor station, and her family’s dream home has become a nightmare.

“I feel like I'm trapped in my home with my small children and it's absolutely not fair,” she said. “The safety and the health of my family and my community has to take precedence over oil extraction, over gas extraction.”

Bush believes that living here is making her family sick. Their litany of health complaints include headaches, nosebleeds and the children’s coughing fits. Her son went from one inhaler to two inhalers, plus a rescue inhaler if necessary.

There are more than 270 active wells within Denton’s city limits, and alarmed locals have taken things into their own hands. In November, the issue will go to a vote. If it passes, this would be the first town in oil and gas-loving Texas to say not in our backyard.