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City revises Animal Control policy
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McMinnville Animal Control’s adoption fee is now $85 per dog and the policy has changed to require all animals be sterilized before they are adopted.
City officials unanimously approved the change Tuesday night. Voting in favor were Mayor Jimmy Haley, Vice Mayor Ben Newman, and Aldermen Mike Neal, Jimmy Bonner, Ryle Chastain, Steve Harvey and Everett Brock.
Newman voiced approval for requiring spaying and neutering before the animals leave the facility and questioned if the fee was similar to that of the county’s Animal Control.
“It is exactly like the county’s fee structure,” said city Animal Control officer David Denton.
The city’s adoption fee for its dogs was $25, plus a $50 sterilization deposit that would be refunded once proof of the procedure was provided, while the county’s adoption fee is a flat $85 for dogs and $65 for cats and the policy requires the animal be spayed or neutered before leaving the facility.
In asking for the changes before the city’s Street and Sanitation Committee in March, Denton said very few of the people adopting from the facility ever returned for their $50 deposit. However, they did return with puppies from the dog they never got sterilized.
“In five years, we have had two come back and ask for their $50,” he said. “They just don’t go do it. This way, when the dog leaves, it is sterilized and we don’t have to worry about it. Before, we were getting a lot of puppies. People would come in and say, ‘We adopted the dog from here and now we have a litter of puppies we don’t want.’ Then, we have anywhere from six to 12 more dogs we have to find homes for.”
The policy now in effect after receiving board approval requires Denton to take the dog being adopted to the vet. Once the dog is sterilized, the dog can be picked up by its new owner. Unlike the county facility, the city facility does not house cats.

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