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Bobby Prater, former Morrison mayor, fire chief, dies at age 82
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Bobby Prater, a man known for his service to the Morrison community as its mayor and fire chief, died Wednesday night after an extended illness. He was 82.
Prater was known for his willingness to serve as he had been affiliated with Morrison Fire Department since its inception and was fire chief for over 50 years. When it came to government, he was a Morrison alderman, vice mayor and mayor.
“He was always available to help the community in any way he could,” said Morrison Mayor Sue Anderson. “He did so much and was such a good neighbor. He’s going to be missed.”
Added Morrison resident John Jacobs, “He was a very public-minded person who was a valuable citizen in the community. He was a real asset to Morrison.”
Mr. Prater served as an elder at Morrison Church of Christ for over 25 years and was honored as Morrison Ruritan’s Citizen of the Year in 2002.
Serving as a firefighter was close to his heart. In addition to his work as fire chief, Mr. Prater was also president of the Fire Chief’s Association.
Born in January of 1929, he graduated from McMinnville Central High School in 1947. Professionally, he worked for 32 years at Magnetek Century Electric.
Funeral service for Mr. Prater is Saturday at 2 p.m. at Morrison Church of Christ. Complete obituary information is available on page 2-A.

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