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Circus dazzles this Saturday
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There will be snarling lions and high-flying acrobatics at McMinnville Civic Center this Saturday.
Circus Pages will be in town with its unique blend of daring stunts and family fun. Two shows are set for 3 and 7 p.m.
“We have some great new acts this year, along with the ones audiences have grown to love,” said ringleader James Earhart, who was in Dunlap preparing for two performances Wednesday when contacted by the Standard. “We have a new aerial act where five girls are in the air at the same time, and Colleen is now doing the routine with the lions and tigers all by herself. She used to be in there with her father, but now it’s just her. She’s pretty confident for a girl who only weighs 100 pounds, but I get nervous for her.”
Circus Pages has been making annual trips to McMinnville for years. The circus makes over 200 stops a year and performs two shows at each location.
Dani the Clown makes his debut with Circus Pages this year and is involved in three skits – one with kids, one with adults, and one on a trampoline. A quick change costume act is also new this year.
As for popular mainstays, Earhart says the Globe of Death will return, even after a gruesome accident inside the globe during a performance a week ago. The Globe of Death features three motorcycles inside a steel globe. The motorcycles ride upside down and all around the globe.
“Usually if there’s a crash in the globe, we all three get piled up,” said Earhart, who is one of the three riders. “The suspension on one of the bikes broke when he was up top. It got him and collected the other one in the crash, but I got out of it by the luck of the draw.”
In true circus form, Earhart says the show must go on and the Globe of Death routine will be part of Saturday’s show. The always-popular elephant rides will also be available.
Adult ticket prices are $15 each. Two children are admitted free with each paying adult.

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