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Eight new flags grace front of VFW building
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Lisa Hobbs
Updated: Dec 12, 2013, 10:19 PM
Published: Dec 12, 2013, 10:21 PM

Down with the old and tattered and up with the new and glorious as VFW Post 5064 changed out its flags last week. Fundraisers are under way to continue improvements.
“We usually change the flags about once a year,” said VFW quartermaster Jerry Lyle. “At that point, they become tattered. These wore out a little early. It was only about nine months or so. The new ones should last a year.”
The new flags cost approximately $60 each and all eight on the front of the building were replaced. The old flags will be disposed of properly.
Caney Fork Electric provided the bucket truck to make the exchange possible.
“They actually volunteered the use of their truck,” said Lyle. “They provided it for us graciously and at no cost. We really appreciate it.”
Changing the flags is the first of upcoming renovations to the VFW building, including work done to the flag poles and painting the building. Lyle, who is also chairman of the building committee, says their fundraising efforts include advertising for local businesses.
“We are in the process of raising funds to upgrade the building. We have several things we are doing. One is we have a closed-circuit television inside. When we get a donation from a business, we put whatever message or logo they want us to put on there. It’s our way of giving back to those who support veterans.”
All donations are accepted. A donation of at least $150 is required to get space on the TV.
“If we receive a donation of at least $150, we will include your ad and keep it up all year long,” said Lyle. “We do that because their donation goes to helping veterans. To me, the most important thing we can do for veterans is to provide them a place to come and get information on their benefits and help for their families.”
VFW Post 5064 offers that place in Warren County. Veterans who are members of the post help themselves by paying dues but it is not enough to cover all of what the VFW provides in services, says Lyle.
“Dues the veterans pay wouldn’t turn on the lights for us,” he said. “We have to raise money in order to continue providing assistance to veterans and allow us to give back to the community.”
VFW promotes positive awareness of the VFW by community involvement with annual college scholarship contests and offering various programs.
“We recently finished our Christmas fruit baskets,” said Lyle. “We offer them to senior citizens every year. We do that in Warren County and Van Buren County.”
To learn more about the services offered by VFW, or to make a donation, call 668-8392.
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