By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support local journalism.
General Sessions: Trial Court
Placeholder Image
Lacy Garrison
Updated: Feb 21, 2014, 1:29 AM
Published: Feb 21, 2014, 1:30 AM

A 27-person docket was heard Tuesday afternoon by Judge Bill Locke in General Sessions Trial Court. Included in the afternoon session:
• Sonny Simmons was ordered to serve 30 days of an 11-month, 29-day sentence, pay $366 and attend the batterer intervention program for domestic assault.
• Joshua Cagle was handed an 11-29 probationary sentence and must pay $250 plus costs for simple possession of marijuana.
• Teresea Lewis was bound to the grand jury on the charge of initiating the process to manufacture meth.
• Oscar Ortiz Miller was bound to the grand jury on charges of theft and aggravated burglary.
• Iris Quinn was bound to the grand jury on the charge of possession of drugs.
• Lara Stevens was bound to the grand jury on the charge of domestic assault.
• Sherry Rankhorn was instructed to serve 48 hours, pay $1,000 plus costs and perform 24 hours public service work for possession of drugs.
• Angela Scott was bound to the grand jury on charges of leaving the scene of an accident, grand theft and driving on a revoked license. She must serve 30 days and have her probation extended by a year for violation of probation.
• Ciara Scott was bound to the grand jury on charges of possession of drugs and drug paraphernalia.
• Shanna Bogle was bound to the grand jury on charges of possession of drug paraphernalia.
• Amanda Cox Dunn must serve 60 days and have her probation extended by a year for violation of probation.
• Billy Johnson must serve 60 days and have his probation extended by one year for violation of probation.
Local farm partnership brings fresh beef to Warren County Schools
local news.png
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