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Judge candidates spend over $50K
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On the eve of the election, the four candidates vying for General Sessions Judge have combined to spend over $50,000.
While Jean Brock continues to lead all candidates in spending, sinking a total of $17,047 into her campaign as of last week, Susan Marttala is coming up quick as she outspent all candidates during the final two weeks leading up to the election. Marttala reported spending $4,601 in the latest report to bring her overall total to $13,224, making her second in spending.
Marttala, a former district attorney and city judge, also became first in campaign contributions as she had four new members join the golden club, meaning they donated over $1,000 to her campaign. The new contributors are Kenneth Whipple with $1,000 and Kay Williams, Trevor Galligan and Meredith Galligan, all giving her $1,250.
Marttala is a longtime member of the law firm of Galligan & Newman. In all, Marttala reported taking in $6,150 in the latest report which dates back to the second week of July.
Meanwhile, Mary Little Pirtle, who led all candidates in contributions during the previous report, has taken the last spot in overall spending with $10,540 reported thus far.
Interim General Sessions Judge Bill Locke, who was appointed to the bench by the Warren County Commission upon the early retirement of Judge Larry Ross in January, was a close second in spending to Marttala down the stretch as he spent $4,197 in the past two weeks, and $12,234 overall.
The winner of the election will serve the remaining two years of Ross’ term and then will be up for election again in 2014. The winner there will get a full eight-year term.

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