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City officials shoot down gun show
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Lisa Hobbs
Published: Feb 28, 2014, 1:47 AM

McMinnville officials have shot down a request from Great American Gun & Knife Shows to hold a show at McMinnville Civic Center in March.
In January, Parks and Recreation Committee members Rick Barnes, Ben Newman and Billy Wood gave the business a tentative “yes” pending legal approval.
At that time, two concerns were raised: 1) the proximity of West Elementary to the Civic Center, and 2) the Civic Center being considered part of a park complex and state law prohibiting firearms within parks.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, which is the federal agency charged with enforcement of firearm laws, pulled the trigger and shot down the idea, said city attorney Tim Pirtle during Tuesday night’s Board of Mayor and Aldermen meeting.
“There seems to be no exception to the school proximity rule as it relates to gun shows,” said Pirtle. “Therefore, I think the plain language from the attorney at that federal agency would preclude the use of the Civic Center for a gun show.”
State law requires all guns within 1,000 feet of a school to be in locked containers. Alderman Mike Neal says that is only one of many rules that would hinder the event.
“It wouldn’t be impossible to hold the show,” said Neal. “However, there would be so many rules that would go along with it, such as having to use locked containers, it just won’t be feasible.”
Newman added, “I read through the information. To have any firearms there each one would have to be individually locked. When going to gun shows, people want to be able to open the slide and look, but you can’t actually do that with them being locked.”
McMinnville Parks and Recreation director Scott McCord says he has already told the gun show promoters the event probably would not take place.
“He seemed to understand,” said McCord. “He did mention that four of his shows are adjacent to schools and he even shares a parking lot with one school. He said he talked to the TBI and they can do a site visit to decide if they can host a gun show.”
Newman asked which authority the city would have to go by if the opinion of the state agency differs from that of the federal agency. Federal trumps state, says Pirtle.
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