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Grand Jury
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Indictments have been handed down by the Warren County grand jury. Included in court action:
• Amanda Sparkman was indicted on the charge of domestic assault.
• Courtney Abraham and Taylor N. Bell were indicted on charges of manufacture, sale or delivery of drugs.
• Amanda Arnold was indicted on the charge of initiating the process to manufacture meth, grand theft, possession of drugs and evading arrest.
• Randy Gilley was indicted on the charge of evading arrest.
• Travis Hawkins was indicted on the charge of theft over $10,000.
• Lucas Stoops was indicted on two counts of grand theft.
• Tommy White was indicted on the charge of grand theft.
• Charles Evans and Patricia Keaton were indicted on charges of burglary and grand theft.
• Jesse R. Laurin was indicted on charges of forgery, theft, burglary, burglary of an auto, and fraudulent use of a credit card.
• Kevin Smith was indicted on the charge of theft.
• Brittney Lott was indicted on the charge of vandalism.
• Michael B. Redmon was indicted on the charge of possession of drug paraphernalia.
• Terry Barnes and Stevie Powers were indicted on charges of aggravated burglary and second-offense driving on a suspended license.
• Keith Prater was indicted on the charge of driving on a revoked license.
• Earl Brinkley Jr., was indicted on charges of grand theft and second-offense driving on a revoked license.
• Alyssa Coleman was indicted on the charge of filing a false report.
• Chad Conner was indicted on the charge of third-offense driving on a suspended license.
• Adam Cope was indicted on charges of DUI, third-offense driving on a suspended license, and possession of a legend drug.
• Jason Deckard was indicted on the charge of third-offense DUI.
• John Hailey was indicted on charges of possession of drugs and DUI.
• Raymond Hudgens was indicted on charges of DUI, possession of drugs and drug paraphernalia, and driving on a revoked license.
• Tiffany Eldrige was indicted on the charge of driving on a suspended license.

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