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City gives initial nod for two firetrucks
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McMinnville Fire Department could be getting two new firetrucks at a cost of $877,886. The measure received committee approval and needs city board acceptance.
Safety Committee members Mike Neal, chairman, and Ken Smith voted in favor of the purchase, while Alderman Rick Barnes voted against it.
The city went out for bids on a quint and an engine. A quint is a fire service apparatus that serves the dual purpose of an engine and ladder truck, while an engine is a multi-purpose vehicle carrying firefighters and equipment for a wide range of firefighting and rescue tasks.
Bids received:
• Rosenbauer —  engine $318,967 and quint $558,919, total cost of $877,886
• Ferrara — engine $320,891 and quint $544,440, total $865,331
• E-One — engine $363,430 and quint $611,760, total $975,190.
McMinnville Fire Chief Keith Martin presented the various features that each company offers, pros and cons, and a desire by the firefighters for the city to accept the bid from E-One.
Martin recommended Rosenbauer as the lowest and best bid.
“Morally and ethically, just because the guys want E-One, I can’t recommend them. They are too high priced,” said Martin. “If we are trying to do our due diligence and spend taxpayers’ money efficiently, I recommend going with Rosenbauer because of the safety devices on the apparatus and the price.”
Barnes made a motion for the city go with the low bid, meaning Ferrara.
Neal questioned, “Are we doing them one at a time or as a pair?”
“I would recommend one at a time, but you could do it either way,” said Alderman Ben Newman, who was in attendance but is not a Safety Committee member.
Smith stated he preferred the safety features offered by Rosenbauer.
“I agree that Rosenbauer is what we need, but it’s not the low bid when you combine them together,” said Smith. “I would like to structure a motion not to say the low bid.”
Smith added the city bid the trucks together in an effort to be a package deal at a lower price.
“When we talked to these people, we talked to them about a package deal. All of them told us you get a better deal with a package deal,” he said.
Barnes’ motion failed due to lack of a second, and Smith recommended the city go with the bid by Rosenbauer on both trucks. The motion passed with Barnes voting against it.
Funding for the purchase will come from local option sales tax recovery money obtained from the city’s lawsuit with the county.

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