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La Point sentenced for burglary spree
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Lacy Garrison
Updated: Oct 15, 2015, 11:58 PM
Published: Oct 16, 2015, 12:59 AM

A White County man was given a decade behind bars for his part in a burglary spree that victimized several homeowners.
The defendant, Rodney William La Point, 24, of Doyle entered guilty pleas to multiple counts of aggravated burglary and vandalism. He was given a 10-year sentence by Circuit Court Judge Bart Stanley and must make over $23,000 in restitution to the victims.
The break-ins began last summer with a burglary of a Vervilla Road home. According to warrants against LaPoint and his alleged partner in crime, Savanna Jean Mahan, 28, entry was made into the house through the backdoor. The couple then went for a gun safe and filing cabinet, destroying both in the course of getting inside them. They ended up taking a 22-caliber gun, a laptop computer and pad. The items are valued at $1,835.
Unknown to the couple, as they fled the scene with more homes to burglarize, the beginning of the end had already set in motion as her car was seen by a passerby at the scene of the crime.
Four days later, on July 1, the couple became more brazen, hitting three houses on the same day. This time they hit a house on Nola Lane, again entering through the back door. The damage to the door alone cost over $2,000. The couple took items like pocket knives and a belt, totaling just over $1,000.
This time their car was not only seen during the heist, but the couple was also seen fleeing the scene while the house alarm was going off. The couple apparently went directly to their next heist, this one on Cooper Road. They used the same method of operation to get into the house and against stole pocket knives and jewelry. The items were appraised at $3,300.
Their final heist at an Old Well Road home proved to be their biggest. After again doing more than $2,000 damage to a door, they took knives and jewelry valued at $15,000. They pawned some of the items in Murfreesboro.
While temporarily getting away with the crimes, the two were hauled to jail a short time later when investigators went to their homes, armed with the description and a tag number of Mahan’s car. Items taken in the burglaries were found at that time further linking them to the break-ins.
Mahan has her plea date set for Oct. 28.
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