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Bidding likely to decide who runs Park Theatre
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Lisa Hobbs
Updated: Jun 5, 2012, 9:18 PM
Published: Jun 5, 2012, 10:16 PM

Park Theatre was again discussed by McMinnville officials at their latest meeting. Who will operate the facility is still undetermined.
Alderman Jimmy Haley questioned city attorney Tim Pirtle on where that process stands.
“Has anything been done to work out the verbiage in the management agreement with Park Theatre Group?” asked Haley. “Steve Phillips said last week he was trying to arrange acts to perform at Park Theatre, but he couldn’t do it without an agreement.”
Pirtle says he sat down with Park Theatre Group member David Marttala for more than an hour and informed him the city could not enter into a management agreement with Park Theatre Group and the reasons behind that decision. Any such agreement, Pirtle says, is subject to the bidding process.
Pirtle and Marttala had a prior meeting with the legal counsel for the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury. The state comptroller is charged with monitoring, auditing, and approving fiscal management, including debt management, for municipalities in Tennessee.
Booking acts for a facility that has yet to be renovated is a bit premature, says Pirtle.
“As far as Steve Phillips booking acts or whatever, he is putting his socks on over his boots,” Pirtle said. “We are a long way from that process. We do not have a theater yet. Booking acts for one is premature.”
While booking acts will have to wait, officials can work out a rental fee structure for local events. Pirtle says that aspect should not wait until the facility is complete.
“There are a lot of things that need to be considered,” he said. “You don’t want to wait until renovation is complete to start working those aspects out. One aspect would be rental fees.”
Rental fees would be for individuals, schools, groups, churches, businesses, etc., that might want to use the facility.
“There is a definite need for a public-use discussion,” said Pirtle. “When can they use it? What will the cost be? If taxpayers fund renovation, I think there will be a reasonable expectation they will be allowed to use the facility at a reasonable cost.”
Cookeville has a facility like Park Theatre. It was built by the city and is operated by the city. Rental is based use, with schools and nonprofit organizations paying less than businesses.
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