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Finding fitness outdoors
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Outdoor fitness equipment could be placed along the walking trail at the Civic Center if city officials leave $8,000 in the McMinnville Parks and Recreation proposed budget for fiscal year 2015-16.

McMinnville Parks and Recreation Department could be getting some slight upgrades over the next year. Director Scott McCord is asking for park improvements in his proposed budget for fiscal year 2015-16.
Among the items currently in the budget are $80,000 to add lights to Pete Holt Field, $8,000 for bleachers, $5,000 for pool loungers, $20,000 for netting at Edley Newman and Cat Walker fields, $14,000 for foul poles, $13,000 for soccer goals, and $8,000 for outdoor fitness equipment.
According to McCord, outdoor fitness equipment is becoming very popular in parks and along walking trails. By eliminating the cost and improving the accessibility to exercise equipment, public fitness parks can increase activity levels in communities.
McCord says the equipment will be evenly placed along the walking trail behind the Civic Center so people can achieve an overall workout.
“These are machines that use your own weight. There are different kinds of equipment that you can get. I think these would be a benefit and well used,” said McCord.
While the new soccer goals will be for Pistole Park, the foul poles will be for all the city’s fields.
  “Most of our soccer goals at Pistole Park are falling apart. We’ve welded them so many times,” said McCord. “One thing we are looking into is new foul poles for all the ball fields to bring up the look, instead of having PVC poles. We want to do the infields and outfields.”
 For future tournaments, netting is needed on the fields and Pete Holt Field is the only one without lights.
 The bleachers will be for the ball fields behind the Civic Center.
 “Anything over four rows has to have a fence around it,” said McCord. “It has to be ADA compliant.”
  The budget was presented to Parks and Recreation Committee members Aldermen Steve Harvey and Jimmy Bonner. Absent from the meeting was Aldermen Ben Newman. The proposed budget was approved and sent to the Finance Committee for its consideration.

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