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House hopefuls discuss issues
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At Monday’s political forum sponsored by Southern Standard and WCPI, Edward Buck (I) and Kevin Dunlap (D), the candidates for 43rd District Tennessee House, offered a friendly discussion, with both aspirants being polite and respectful in their comments.
The candidates focused on differing points in their opening statements.
Dunlap stressed the importance of education, saying, “I’ve had public school teachers who gave me an incredible education in the public schools here in Warren County. I think our public schools are incredible places that educate our children and help them to be able to go out into the workforce and have meaningful and successful careers.”
He continued, “What we must do is continue to move forward in our state so we have 21st century jobs for our young people. We’ve got to be able to have high-paying jobs so our young people in this state and in this community can come back and grow and have high-paying jobs. And that’s what I intend to do. Have strong schools, high-paying jobs, and to work hard to make this community a great place.”
Buck discussed bringing more jobs and business to our district, saying, “We need more jobs for the people. In just our district alone, Sparta’s lost six companies. The unemployment rate is just atrocious and there are things I have seen in other states that they could do, that could be brought here that would create so many new jobs. Tax-free zones for companies to come out here. We could lower the taxes for the individual companies and get, still, a large revenue into the government which creates a whole lot of jobs.”
Buck continued, “The things I’ve seen in running my own companies before really need to be brought to the attention of the people in the state House. Because without it we’re just going to keep doing the same thing we’re doing.”
In the question and answer portion of the evening, candidates were asked six questions on such subjects as Common Core and education, Medicare and healthcare for the poor, and bringing jobs to the state.
In closing, Dunlap said, “I want to say to the voters that Tennessee values are what I want to take to Nashville. I want to give back to this community by going to Nashville. I want to bring new leadership and Tennessee values to Capitol Hill. I believe firmly we can do better in this district. We can do better in this state to bring those good-paying jobs and make this community worthy for us to live. I want to help us make that successful. “
Buck closed by saying, “There are a lot of things wrong with the state of Tennessee. There are a lot of things right with the state of Tennessee. The things that are right we need to keep. Things that are wrong need to be changed. We don’t need to add any more taxes. We don’t need to add to our health care rolls without knowing exactly what’s in the bills. But we do need to change the way we’re going to create more jobs, because without that all we’re going to be is a rural community with a lot of people on unemployment and healthcare.”
Early voting is currently open in the early voting room at the County Administrative Building. Regular voting will be Nov. 4 from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.

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