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Administrative Offices seeking additional security measures
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Lisa Hobbs
Updated: Aug 8, 2015, 5:59 PM
Published: Aug 8, 2015, 6:59 PM

Security measures are on the rise at Warren County Administrative Offices. The hand-held metal detector used during July’s full County Commission meeting was only the beginning.
The county’s Building and Grounds Committee has been discussing new security measures, including the purchase of a full-sized metal detector for people to walk through, much like the one at Warren County Courthouse.
County Commissioner Carl E. Bouldin, committee chairman, says he asked Finance Department director Linda Hillis to get a quote on the device and he approved the purchase.
“We’ve got some people in this building who are worried,” said Bouldin. “They would like to have some security in this building, so I had Linda check on one of those metal detectors like we have at the courthouse. I feel like they gave us a real good price. That one at the courthouse was right at $4,000. They quoted us one for $3,698.12 and that includes a $150 hand-held wand.”
Bouldin says he discussed the price with Hillis and Warren County Executive Herschel Wells and the decision was made to purchase it. “We have to start somewhere,” he said. “This is just one of the things we have to have. This is just the beginning.”
Consideration will be given in the future, says Bouldin, to locking all side and rear doors so they can only be used for exiting the building, requiring everyone to enter through the main entrance. Also under discussion is switching to a key-less entry and card reader system for county commissioners and building employees during business hours.
“It’s a different world in which we live,” said Bouldin. “No one would have thought the situation in Chattanooga would happen, but it did.”
On July 16, Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez opened fire on a recruiting center and then a U.S. Navy Reserve center. He killed four Marines and a Navy sailor, wounding others, before being killed in a gunfight with police.
County Commissioner Kenny Roberts agrees the full-sized metal detector is a good start to heightened security measures.
“I think this is a good idea,” he said. “Like you said, we have to start somewhere.”
Initially, the full-sized metal detector will be used only during full County Commission meetings on the third Monday of each month at 6:30 p.m. and during special events when it is determined the device might be needed. It will be manned by sheriff’s deputies.
Committee members Bouldin, Roberts and County Commissioners Carolyn Miller and Michael Shane Wilcher approved the purchase. County Commissioner David Rhea was absent.
Local farm partnership brings fresh beef to Warren County Schools
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Published: Apr 2, 2025, 11:31 PM

Warren County Schools has beefed up lunch menus this school year through a new community partnership. Thanks to a collaboration between the district’s School Nutrition Department and Barton Creek Farms, students at Warren County High School, Warren County Middle School, West Elementary, Eastside Elementary, and Dibrell Elementary are enjoying locally sourced, farm-fresh beef in their lunches as part of a pilot program.

The initiative, spearheaded by Terri Mullican, Director of School Nutrition, has already shown great promise in its first few months. The partnership with Barton Creek Farms, located in Rock Island, Tennessee, ensures that the beef served is not only local to Warren County but of the highest quality. Barton Creek Farms specializes in farm-to-fork beef, with grass-fed and grain-finished cattle. Each calf is born and raised in Rock Island and goes through USDA-inspected processing, ensuring it meets the strictest safety and quality standards.

“When the opportunity arose to provide fresh, local beef, we knew it was a no-brainer,” Mullican said. “The fact that it’s a product from right here in our community makes it even more special. We can’t wait to implement it district-wide.”

Barton Creek Farms delivers fresh ground beef to the district monthly, and the nutrition

department incorporates it into homemade recipes such as lasagna, meatloaf, chili, and tacos.

As of now, the beef is being served at five schools, but the ultimate goal is to expand the program to all ten lunch-serving schools in the district.

The pilot program originated from a conversation between Mary Roller of Barton Creek Farms and Mullican. Roller, recognizing the farm’s potential to support local schools, reached out to gauge the district’s interest in serving local beef to students. Around the same time, a Warren County school board member contacted Mullican to share information about a similar partnership in neighboring Dekalb County, which helped push the initiative forward.

The timing worked in the district’s favor, as the nutrition department was able to fund the purchase of the beef using existing resources, eliminating the need for additional funding. Now that the pilot program is enjoying a successful run, the department has budgeted to extend the partnership district-wide for the 2025-26 school year.

Dr. Grant Swallows, Director of Schools, praised the program’s economic approach to student nutrition.

“This pilot is a perfect example of how we can use local resources to continue providing nutritious, healthy meals for our students,” he said. “We are grateful for partnerships like this one that benefit both our students and our local community. We always strive to support our local businesses when we can because our community is so good to us.”

In addition to working with Warren County Schools, Barton Creek Farms also partners with local restaurants to offer farm-fresh beef on their menus. The farm’s offerings include ground beef, steaks, roasts, and custom cuts by the quarter, half, or whole cow, meeting diverse consumer needs.

As the program continues to grow, the district hopes to expand its focus on farm-to-school meals, benefiting students’ health and connecting them to the agricultural roots of the community