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Annual Pork and Bands concert Saturday
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It's a performance that might be a little saucy.
The annual Pork and Bands concert is set to march into the Warren County High School auditorium this Saturday beginning at 2 p.m.
Five different musical performances are on the schedule, along with routines from the Pioneerettes and color guard. Admission is free, although there is a charge for food, including the band’s secret-recipe BBQ.
“This is a great way to end the year and show how much growth we’ve had as a band,” said WCHS band director Duane Farnham. “It’s been a memorable year, complete with a grand championship in the fall at the marching contest in Crossville.”
The WCHS band had a highly acclaimed halftime show called “The Bad Girls of Pop.” It featured songs from pop female rockers, including “Wrecking Ball” from Miley Cyrus.
Saturday’s Pork and Bands is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. with a color guard exhibition. At 2:30 p.m., the WCMS percussion ensemble is scheduled to perform, followed by the WCHS percussion ensemble at 3 p.m. A routine from the Pioneerettes is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
Concessions begin at 4 p.m., followed by three band performances beginning at 5 p.m. The band performances, in order, include the WCMS sixth-grade beginning band, WCMS 7-8 grade intermediate band, and the WCHS Pioneer Pride Marching Band.
“The high school band has a routine that will appeal to veterans with a flag folding ceremony set to music,” said Farnham.

Local farm partnership brings fresh beef to Warren County Schools
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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