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Baptism wish fulfilled at hospital
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Pastor Jeff Kesley of Campaign Church of God performed the brief ceremony in a hospital therapy tub.

Saint Thomas River Park Hospital has fulfilled a terminally ill patient’s desire to be baptized.
Pastor Jeff Kesley of Campaign Church of God performed the brief ceremony in a hospital therapy tub. Kesley and the hospital have both declined to identify the elderly woman out of privacy concerns, but Kesley told the Standard the baptism was emotional.
“This is such a touching story,” said Kesley. “Without a miracle from the Lord, medically speaking, she’s not looking at a lot of time left. The hospital said they could accommodate us for the baptism so we met with her and we prayed with her. It was a joy for me to be part of this.”
The baptism took place Monday afternoon. Since a video was posted online, it has gained attention from all over Middle Tennessee. Kesley said he’s even been contacted by TV show “The 700 Club.”
Kesley’s involvement was by happenstance. He serves as one of several volunteer chaplains at the hospital. He was the preacher on duty last Friday when the patient expressed her desire to be baptized.
“I met with her and we talked,” said Kesley. “It was something where she had been baptized a long time ago as a little girl and she wanted to be baptized again.”
The hospital baptism was a first for Kesley, who has been pastor at Campaign Church of God since 2010 and a pastor for over 20 years.
“I’ve done some very unique baptisms in ponds, creeks, swimming pools,” said Kesley. “This hospital baptism was a first for me.”
A video of the baptism is available on the Campaign Church of God Facebook page.

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