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Hernandez faces numerous charges
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Lacy Garrison
Updated: Aug 20, 2011, 10:03 PM
Published: Aug 20, 2011, 11:03 PM

Grand jurors covered the gamut against a man charged with rape, indicting him not only on the rape charge but also lesser included offenses of statutory rape and sexual battery by an authority figure.
The defendant, Alenjandro Hernandez, was indicted on the three different counts which span a large area in potential sentences. The lowest possible count, that of statutory rape, charges he had illegal, but consensual, sexual contact with a person under 18 and could face one to two years in prison. The next charge of sexual battery by an authority figure carries three to six years in prison and suggests he used his position or power over the girl to have sexual relations. The highest count, that of rape, charges he forced the girl into having sex.
The victim, a 16-year-old girl, says Hernandez forced himself on her after her older sister had left the residence where they were all staying. The man was dating her sister at the time.
“He came into my room and starting rubbing me,” the girl testified during preliminary hearing last month. “He had sex with me.”
However, perhaps bringing the indictments to the lesser included offenses, was her admission during her testimony that she never said the word “no” to Hernandez, nor did she resist in any way. She maintained she was afraid he would turn violent if she resisted although, on cross examination, she said she had never seen him be violent in the past.
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