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Education notes
Ellis Laela
Laela Ellis was recently named to the honors list at St. Andrews-Sewanee School.
Updated: Dec 21, 2012, 12:07 AM
Published: Dec 21, 2012, 12:10 AM

Luna graduates from UT-Martin

A Warren County resident was among students who received degrees from the University of Tennessee at Martin during the recent fall commencement held in the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center on the UT Martin campus.
The student receiving a graduate degree was McMinnville resident Holly Beth Luna.



Ellis earns academic honors

Laela Ellis was recently named to the honors list at St. Andrew’s-Sewanee School. She is the daughter of Greg and Carolina Ellis of McMinnville, and is a freshman. 
In addition to her outstanding achievements in the classroom, Laela is involved in the school’s theater program and recently appeared in the school’s production of “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.”



Bond graduates fire academy


Firefighter James. J. Bond of the Flowood, Miss., Fire Department graduated Dec. 13 from the National Fire Protection Association 1001 Firefighter course held at the Mississippi State Fire Academy in Jackson.
The intensive six-week course included classroom and practical instruction in the area of fire behavior, fire suppression, rescue, incident command, hazardous materials and other fire related topics. This course meets and exceeds the National Fire Protection Association of Firefighter Qualifications and the uniform minimum training standards stated in the Mississippi Code.
Bond is the son of Johnny Bond Jr., and Georgia Bond of McMinnville. Bond and his wife, Jennifer, are the parents of Natalie Roberts, 11, and Gavin Bond, 11.
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