Bourbon County, Business, Fort Scott

Coy Pollmeier: Young Entrepreneur

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Although Coy Pollmeier, 19,  is a professional bull rider, he has taken up boot repair as a side job.

“Riding bulls is what I do most of the time and leather/ boot-repair is what I do on the side,” he said. “I only do boot-repair on the side because I also travel a lot …professionally, in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association.”

Pollmeier purchased the leather/boot repair shop equipment from John Renard earlier this year. Renard retired after providing the service to Bourbon County for decades.

If one has a good pair of boots, they can last for years, with a few repairs now and then.

Pollmeier is providing that service to those who want to keep a good pair of boots for a long time.

CP Leather and Boot Repair is the name of his new business.
“I… work out of my house,” he said. “I have a drop off site in town.”
He is in the process of perfecting the craft.
“I have spent time with a few other repairmen picking up things here and there but it has been mostly trial and error,” he said. “I have been working on repairing boots for probably about the last eight months and I’m just now going public about it.”
A boot before repair. Submitted photo.
The same boot after being repaired by Pollmeier. Submitted photo.
“I can repair most boots and shoes to an extent,” Pollmeier said. “I am the only one in the shop, so it is all done by myself. It usually takes me a few hours to completely redo a pair of boots.”
The leather/boot drop off site is Hills Service Gas Station, 308 No. National Avenue.
Contact Pollmeier at 620.215.4937.
Bourbon County, Business, Fort Scott

Fort Scott Community Closet Needing Volunteers: Workday Nov. 2

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FORT SCOTT COMMUNITY CLOSET IS HAVING A WORKDAY
FOR THE VOLUNTEERS & ANYONE INTERESTED IN VOLUNTEERING ON SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 2ND FROM 10 AM TO 6 PM.
THE CLOSET IS DONE AND WE WILL BE SORTING CLOTHES, HANGING AND FOLDING THEM IN ANTICIPATION OF THE CLOSET BEGINNING IT’S OPERATIONS.
CALL LORI LOVELACE MORE DETAILS: 620.644.9834
502 SOUTH NATIONAL AVENUE.
FORT SCOTT, KS 66701
Business, Entertainment, Fort Scott

Hedgehog.INK Celebrates First Anniversary With Cake Today

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Come Celebrate
Hedgehog.Ink’s
1st Birthday!
Runs through Friday, November 1st!
Tuesday’s through Saturday open from 10 am to 5:30 pm
Sunday & Monday hours are from 1 pm to 5 pm
BIRTHDAY CAKE
OCTOBER 31ST!
SPECIALS:Buy 3 Gently Used Books and Get One FREE!
Sales $50 or more, choose a Free Book Marker!
Hedgehog.INK is located
@ 16 S. Main Street downtown Fort Scott!
Bourbon County, K-State Extension

Southwind Judging Team Wins American Royal

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From left to right: Brody Nemecek, Clay Brillhart, Jillian Keller, Haydon Schaaf, Carla Nemecek (coach)

 

The Southwind Extension District 4-H Livestock Judging Team of Jillian Keller (Piqua), Brody Nemecek (Iola), Haydon Schaaf (Uniontown), and Clay Brillhart (Fort Scott) participated at the American Royal Livestock Show last week in Kansas City, MO.

By a large margin of 30 points, Southwind District was named Champion 4-H Team. They were selected as the only team to represent Kansas 4-H because they were the State Champion 4-H Livestock Judging Team in August 2019.

With 19 different state teams and 70 youth in the contest, this group continues to work hard to earn national recognition.

In addition to being the High Team Overall, they were also 1st in Reasons, 3rd in Sheep/Goats, 2nd in Swine and 2nd in Cattle.

Individual results include: Jillian Keller – 2nd High Individual Overall, 1st in Cattle, 9th in Swine and 10th in Reasons;

Haydon Schaaf – 4th Individual Overall, 3rd in Reasons, 7th in Sheep/Goats, 8th in Swine;

Brody Nemecek – 2nd in Swine and tied for 10th  Individual Overall;

Clay Brillhart, 4th in Sheep/Goats and 7th in Swine.

The team continues to be coached by Carla Nemecek, Southwind District Director.


 

 

Bourbon County, Business

David Foster, Local Farmer, Expands Horizons

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David Foster, Chief Executive Officer of Terrakat LLC.
David Foster, who is a fourth-generation Bourbon County dairyman,  still makes his living providing for his wife and children on the family farm at 1035 Hwy 39.
In addition to tending to his milk cows, he started a new business this year called Terrakat LLC.
The equipment spreads the manure that his herd of dairy cows produces daily.

“The equipment allows the farmer to spread manure on the field providing nutrients to the soil that is needed to raise crops,” Foster said. “Manure is fertilizer.”

Terrakat manure spreader. Submitted photo.
“Terrakat (his business) was formed in March once I knew I had found a product that not only would be beneficial for Foster Dairy but also be beneficial for others as well,” he said.
The equipment is manufactured in Turkey.
“I flew over to Turkey in March (2019) to meet with the manufacturers, that I would then contract to produce my first ag equipment product of a manure spreader,” Foster said.
He had done his research but wanted to see first hand the product.
“I have a good company with good quality steel, good workmanship and willingness to allow me to make any changes I feel necessary to make the product better,” Foster said.
“Once I had returned, I placed an order for two units that had a capacity of 20 tons of manure each,” Foster said.  “We planned to keep one for ourselves at Foster Dairy and then to sell the second unit.”
Foster began the business to save money on agricultural equipment for Foster Dairy,  and then to build a business that can save others money on needed equipment, he said.
“I am providing a quality product that is more cost-effective and (additionally)then spending dollars locally for my business needs, for example, Captured Images Photography, SkyyFoxx,  My1Stop.com to name a few,” he said.
It’s been a project that has unfolded this year.
“They (two pieces of equipment) arrived in a shipping container in July during the Bourbon County Fair,” Foster said. “After getting them unloaded and finishing some assembly, we waited for a window to demo the spreader where the ground was not too wet to spread manure. Which was difficult this year. When we did, we hired a drone company to take some professional footage as well as a photographer to take some high-end photos.”
He made his first sale this month.
“I took one of the units to the Ozark Fall Farmfest farm show in Springfield at the beginning of October where I made my first sale!” he said.  “To my surprise, it wasn’t the model on display but one size bigger. That order for a T28 Terrakat Manure Spreader was placed last week and expected to ship this Friday.”
“The highlight of my first farm show wasn’t simply making a sale, but more importantly, to get feedback from other farmers and ranchers in the four-state area and to compare Terrakat to five other well-know brands of manure spreader,” Foster said.  “After hearing from them, I was even more pleased to learn that I not only beat the competition on unit price, but had more features packed into a lower maintenance design with more volume capacity!”
“I also had a promising meeting with one of the country’s largest farm cooperatives last week in partnering with Terrakat to offer my manure spreaders to all of their 14000 members across the country,” he said.  ” I have generated a lot of interest in a very short time. Terrakat is still in the startup/launch phase. I’m booked to go to the Tulsa Farm Show on December 12-14th. I have already had people tell me they are looking forward to seeing a Terrakat spreader at that show.”
“Meanwhile, I have been working on some added features to include scales, removable beaters, and GPS-ready variable rate flow control to name a few,” he said.
Besides being a dairyman and this new business venture, Foster owns another business called Cash Cow Enterprise LLC where he has reclaimed and salvaged used metal buildings for the last 12 years.
Foster is still working on website design for Terrakat LLC, a promotional video, establishing a nationwide dealer network, designing feature enhancements,  and “my next product- line rollout, and another trip to Turkey to work on designs and other products with my manufacturer.”
Foster’s phone is 620-224-9433,  and website: www.terrakat.com
or his Facebook page.
Foster graduated Uniontown High School  in 1998, Fort Scott Community College in 2000, and  Kansas State University with a degree in animal science and a degree in agricultural communications
He is involved in his community through Farm Bureau, 4-H, FFA,  Bourbon County Fair Board, and Dairy Farmers of America.

Foster is the only employee at this time for Terrakat LLC, but expansion will require employees in the future, he said.

“Overall, I believe my new company will be successful because I am modeling it after my successful business of Cash Cow Enterprise LLC,” he said. ” I have learned that I don’t sell anything that I don’t use myself. I work on slim margins to make the best deal and to remain competitive.  I take pride in feeling like I am helping farmers and ranchers like myself by providing a good quality alternative at a lower price than the competition.”
Bourbon County, Fort Scott

Veterans Day Parade Registration

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Veterans Day Parade Entries are now being accepted

Live Local Bourbon County is hosting the 2nd Annual Veterans Day Parade to be held on Saturday, November 9, beginning at 3:00 pm through downtown Fort Scott.

Entries for the parade are now being accepted at the Fort Scott Regional Tourism Center at 231 E. Wall Street in Fort Scott, or at Bids & Dibs.

Parade entries should honor our veterans, showcase patriotism, and celebrate Veterans Day.

Entries are being accepted for floats, marching bands, foot units, antique or classic cars, horse units, golf carts, or anything fitting for a Veterans Day Celebration.

The parade route will follow the normal parade route through Fort Scott, beginning on Main Street at 6th, traveling north to Wall, east on Wall Street to National, and south on National to 6th.

The parade staging area will be at Fort Scott High School.

For more information, or to volunteer, contact the Fort Scott Convention & Visitors Bureau at 620.670.2750 or online at visitfortscott.com.

Contact: Ally Turvey
Phone: (620) 670.2750
Email:[email protected]

Bourbon County Local News