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Chaires given six months probation for identity theft
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Lacy Garrison
Updated: Dec 12, 2012, 2:27 AM
Published: Dec 12, 2012, 2:28 AM

A man who was caught using another person’s Social Security number has been given probation.
The man, Jose Concepcion Parra Chaires, 38, entered a guilty plea before General Sessions Judge Bill Locke to the reduced charge of criminal impersonation and was placed on probation for six months and directed to pay $217 restitution. He was originally charged with identity theft and bearing a false ID.
The charges were brought after it was discovered the defendant used a fake Social Security card to  secure employment at John L. Cartwright Nursery.
The rightful owner of the Social Security number, a Toni Williams from North Carolina, learned her number was being used and filed a report with the sheriff’s department here in Warren County. Acting on her report, investigator Steven Carpenter tracked down who was using the Social Security number and discovered it was Chaires. He then located him for an interview.
“He stated he had bought the card in Texas from someone who makes the cards,” Carpenter said in his warrant against Chaires. “He stated he did not know who the Social Security number belonged to.”
Lawmen say false IDs, especially in the case of immigrants from Central America, are something that is regularly seen, sometimes even in cases where the person is here legally. While it appears the legal issues will be laid to rest with his plea to the misdemeanor, Chaires could have faced federal charges since he was fraudulently using a federal identification number.
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