By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support local journalism.
Convenience center to close Jan. 13
Placeholder Image

Residents who use the convenience center on Highway 8 will soon have to find somewhere else to take their garbage. The location will be closed Jan. 13.
The landowner, who has been cooperating with the county for several years, let the Sanitation Department know he needed use of his property back about two months ago.
Health and Welfare Committee members, as well as District 8 Commissioners, have attempted to find another location in a nearby area, but could not find anyone willing to sell.
Said Tommy Savage, “Everything that Randy (England) checked on they didn’t want to sell it. They were afraid it would bring the value of their place down.”
The landowner has agreed to give the county until Jan. 13 to clear the location.
According to Sanitation Department director Steve Hillis, the closest convenience center is at Fairview, approximately 4.5 miles away. As the county’s second largest site, Hillis says the center is equipped to handle all of the traffic from the mountain.
Hillis suggested extending Fairview’s hours to make it more convenient. He proposed 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, with Saturday hours remaining the same.
The committee passed the motion to close the center unanimously. On Jan. 14, the Sanitation Department will begin removing the equipment from the center and will have it completely cleared within a week.
During the meeting, Hillis also discussed the Sanitation Department’s numbers for November. The department processed 582.88 tons of garbage in 86 loads. Cardboard, newsprint, metal, and tires were recycled for a total of 64.06 tons, earning over $3,000 for the county.
Nineteen percent of the county’s waste was recycled in November.

Local farm partnership brings fresh beef to Warren County Schools
local news.png

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