By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support local journalism.
First day of school Thursday
Placeholder Image

Buses will run, school bells will ring, and the 2012-13 school year will officially get under way Thursday morning at 7:45 a.m.
The new school year brings with it several changes including a new top official in Director of Schools Bobby Cox, a new school in Morrison, and a new principal at Centertown in Pam Cowan.
Cox replaces former director Dr. Jerry Hale, who had served in that capacity since 2000.
“We’ve done a lot of preparation this summer getting ready for the new year and it’s been pretty smooth to this point,” Cox said yesterday. “Hopefully that will continue Thursday when the kids go to school.”
Grand opening ceremonies were held last Thursday for the new school in Morrison. It’s located on Five Mile Road away from the traditional Morrison downtown district.
Cowan moves to the principal’s office at Centertown after 18 years in the classroom there. She said it will be tough to leave the classroom, but she’s ready to embrace a new challenge.
Former Centertown principal Autumn Turner has been promoted to the central office.
The Aug. 9 start of school is nearly one week earlier than last year’s Aug. 15 start date. Students and teachers won’t get their first break until Sept. 3 with the Labor Day holiday.

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