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City decides to continue with opioid review
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McMinnville officials are continuing with an examination of their records to determine if enough monetary damage exists to warrant a lawsuit against opioid manufacturers.

“The city is not being represented in any way on behalf of this lawsuit by the DA’s office,” said Alderman Ben Newman. “We are a municipality. We are an entity of our own. We don’t have anything to do with the lawsuit the DA has filed. The county may or may not. That’s pending. We’re independent. Whatever happens in that lawsuit will not affect us.”

The city Finance Committee decided last month to allow Galligan & Newman, Attorneys at Law, to review records with McMinnville Police Chief Bryan Denton and determine if the city experienced increased law enforcement costs that could be recouped by a lawsuit. A follow-up meeting was scheduled by chairman Everett Brock after the county Budget and Finance Committee voted to hold off on a measure to hire Galligan & Newman to represent it.

Warren County government is in the midst of a rare situation: District Attorney General Lisa Zavogiannis hired the Nashville firm of Branstetter, Stranch & Jennings to represent her district of Warren and Van Buren counties, and Warren County government is considering a measure to hire Galligan & Newman to represent it. Both lawsuits are seeking similar damages.

As explained by Alderman Ben Newman, the county has decided to wait on a judge to rule on litigation in Kingport that may answer the question of which litigation should prevail: those filed by DAs or those filed by the county governments.

“Sullivan County was the first to file in the state of Tennessee,” said Newman, in explaining the situation. “The drug companies have filed a motion to dismiss whatever claim they have filed against them.”

He warned the judge’s decision could be the beginning of an appeals process and may not signal a final outcome.
“The decision is subject to appeal and subject to further appeal,” said Newman. “The decision by a lower state court judge doesn’t always mean what you think it does. It can be appealed and reversed.”

The city’s committee did not rescind last month’s decision to allow an examination by Galligan & Newman. Newman, an attorney in that firm, did not participate in last month’s vote.

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