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City's new boat sinks
It was used improperly, boat maker says
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McMinnville Fire Department had to rescue its new rescue boat Friday morning. A test in deep water of a boat designed for shallow water resulted in the boat tipping over and sinking.
The incident happened at Riverfront Park around 11 a.m. Firefighters were simulating a river rescue in deep water, with two men in the boat attempting to pull one man out of the water, when the boat tilted to the side, filled with water and sunk.
The boat was purchased by the city from Towee Boats Manufacturing, a local company, for about $14,000. Todd Gregory, president of Towee Boats, says the boat was not designed for deep-water rescue.
“The purpose of today’s test was, ‘Can we use the boat for something else.’ The department wants a boat to use above the dam in deep water. I advised them that they probably can’t. They wanted to try, which was the reason for the test.”
The boat was ordered by the Warren County Rescue Squad and purchased by the city of McMinnville. Ordered was a light-weight, shallow-water boat with a jet motor.
“They wanted a shallow-water boat, a boat that would get in places where others won’t go, like up the Barren Fork in 4 inches of water,” said Gregory. “They asked for a jet motor so no propellor is hanging down, and for it to be light weight.”
In order to make the boat as light as possible, it was also ordered without flotation foam in the bottom. Gregory says the absence of foam is what sunk the firefighters.
“This boat was ordered without flotation foam in it,” said Todd. “With foam in the boat, it would have held up to 4,000 pounds.”
Flotation foam does not prevent the boat from filling with water. Instead, foam prevents the boat from sinking if it does fill with water.
The boat was purchased by the city in November by the former board in a partnership effort with the Rescue Squad. The cost, boat and trailer, was approximately $14,000.
Towee Boats is a leading manufacturer of shallow-water boats for harsh environmental conditions. It’s local facility is inside Red Road Business Park.

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