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Girl Scout unlocks gift of reading
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James Clark
Updated: Mar 14, 2015, 6:03 PM
Published: Mar 14, 2015, 7:00 PM

Childhood memories of playing tag or climbing trees may kindle thoughts of youthful innocence. But what of the people whose childhood memories involve visiting a parent behind bars?
The families of those incarcerated can be an overlooked aspect of society. That’s why Warren County High School junior Victoria England has undertaken a project to provide books to children visiting a parent at the jail.
The project is for her Gold Award, the most prestigious honor in Girl Scouts. It’s equivalent to the Eagle Scout award in Boy Scouts.
“I got the idea from talking with Sheriff Jackie Matheny,” said Victoria. “He said a lot of children come in and out of the jail visiting a parent. For some of them they are here every week and they have nothing to do while they are waiting. They just sit. I wanted to give them some books to read.”
England collected a library of over 1,100 books, which includes a donation of some 500 books from Morrison School. The books are for all different age levels, including picture books for small children to even some books for adults.
“I originally thought this would be for just children but it can be for the entire family,” said Victoria. “If they want a book here they can have it. They can take it home or do whatever they want with it. I have plans to replenish the supply.”
The Gold Award is a rare Girl Scout distinction. England said only about 10 percent of all Girl Scouts gain council approval for their Gold Award project and only 5.4 percent actually earn the award. England has not received the Gold Award yet. This project only puts her in consideration.
Per conditions of the project, England is required to do all the work herself. That’s why she solicited all the donations and even made an attractive area, called the Imagination Center, in one corner of the jail lobby. England made the bookcase which stands in that corner with the help of Kirby Freeze.
While not having an exact number, Sheriff Matheny said dozens of visitors come to see a family member at the jail each week. Inmates are allowed visitors for one hour each week.
England said she would also like to spend time with children who are visiting the jail.
“I’d like to find a good time when I can come out maybe once a week and read to them and give them friendly support,” said Victoria. “They need someone to lean on too.”
Victoria is the daughter of Gary and Pam England. Melody Hyder is the troop leader of Girl Scout Troop 1142 and Melonie Turner has been her project advisor.
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