Kennebec County Soil & Water Conservation District

“to protect and enhance Maine's soil and water resources by providing educational programs, conservation information and technical assistance to municipalities, schools, landowners and residents of Kennebec County."

District Front Runner Program

This picture of the FrontRunner was how it originally looked when we got it.

...and here is the FrontRunner after Don Cloutier worked to rebuild it after years of use and miles of work.  Nice job Don.

THERE ARE STILL A COUPLE TRAININGS SCHEDULED THIS SUMMER. JUST NOT ALL IN KENNEBEC COUNTY.

Saturday, August 11 in Augusta - contact Art Grindle at the Kennebec SWCD @ 622-7847 x3.   This workshop may not include a demonstration of the FrontRunner but people could watch the demonstration the following Saturday at Maine Farm Days (see below). Click for details on the 11th.

Saturday, August 18 in Hartland  -  contact Carol Weymouth at the Somerset SWCD @ 474-8324  Attention. The location of this training may be changed. Contact Carol for details.

Saturday, August 25 in Perry - contact Sharon Foss at the Washington SWCD @ 255-4659

Saturday, September 1 in Standish - contact Rosetta Thompson in Farmington for the specific details.

Several Soil and Water Conservation Districts in Maine including Kennebec have Frontrunner grader rakes available to loan to landowners. To request use of the Frontrunner contact Dale Finseth @ 622-7847 ext 3

The Front Runner grader/rake is an attachment that fits onto the front of pickup trucks in place of the snowplow. It is used for road grading and maintenance, site cleanup, landscaping, finish grading and snow removal on soft roads.

Front Runner consists of a row of heavy duty, flexible, spring steel tines individually bolted to a rugged, welded steel frame. A set of adjustable gauge wheels is attached to this frame in front of the tines for support. The entire attachment forms the configuration of a miniature road grader. It is controlled by the truck's snowplow hydraulic hoist.

Front Runner has the advantage of improved visibility and control over rear mounted attachments. The spring steel tines allow faster operating speeds than a bucket or blade because of their "forgiveness", plus they have the ability to separate and remove debris ahead of the vehicle so that it will not have to drive over the debris as happens with a rear mounted or towed device. 

The most powerful feature that all users have discovered, aside from its time saving capability, ease of operation and its ability to provide outstanding results, is its versatility.