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Haston guilty of meth charge
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A woman will be liable for paying McMinnville Housing Authority over $10,000 to clean up the meth lab she and her boyfriend were operating out of her apartment.
The defendant, Susan Haston, 37, entered guilty pleas to the charge of promoting the manufacture of meth. She was directed by Circuit Court Judge Bart Stanley to serve 120 days of a three-year sentence and pay a $2,000 drug fine.
She will also be jointly liable to pay $10,731 to McMinnville Housing Authority for meth lab clean up. The amount is to be paid by her and co-defendant, Jonathan Curtis, 32, once his case is settled.
The two were arrested when officers arrived at a residence at 102 Lyndon Street with a search warrant. They found numerous items used in the production of methamphetamine. The items included a glass jar with lithium batteries, stained coffee filters, aluminum foil balls, an active shake bottle, a gasser, a pressure device for a shake bottle, and a jug of Coleman fuel.
The couple was taken into custody and charged with operating the meth lab. As a result of the discovery, MHA incurred fees for a clean-up of the apartment since it was used to manufacture meth. Structures used to manufacture the drug are required to pass a health inspection before they are habitable again. Many times specialized clean-up services are required to bring the buildings up to code. Haston and Curtis will be responsible for paying back MHA for the clean up.
In addition to the meth lab, Haston also entered a guilty plea to the charge of aggravated criminal trespassing. Prosecutors say she smuggled Curtis into the Families in Crisis home where he stayed for several hours while other victims of abuse were staying there. She was given probation and must perform 16 hours public service work for the trespassing count.

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