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Celebrating Easter
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Pat Carr lifts daughter Emery in the air Saturday morning so she can place a flower on the cross outside Westwood Church of Christ. The cross was decorated throughout the day so it would be brimming with flowers for Easter Sunday.
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It is never too early to start egg hunting and 5-month-old Luna Parsley is proof. The little one received some help from mom, Angelica Parsley, to gather a stroller full of eggs during the Parks and Recreation egg hunt Saturday at Hoover-Millraney Field. - photo by Nikki Childers

Easter Sunday is traditionally the busiest church day of the year as congregations prepare for crowds and hold special services in remembrance of the resurrection of Christ.

An Easter service will be held outdoors at Riverfront Park by the congregation of Resurrection and Hope Baptist Church, and Christ Community Church will be holding a special ceremony at Park Theater. Both services are open to everyone and begin at 10:30 a.m.

“We’ll talk about Christ being the best rescue plan ever,” said Christ Community Church pastor Jeremy Kliewer who will deliver the message at Park Theater. “This is a great opportunity for us to all come together as a community and to celebrate Christ.”

Westwood Church of Christ is continuing its recent tradition of a flower cross outside its main entrance on Morrison Street. Pat Carr and his daughter Emery did their part to decorate the cross Saturday morning.

In expecting a large crowd for Sunday’s service, Westwood officials have asked members to park away from the church to allow visitors to have closer spaces.

The Easter Bunny hopped his way into Three Star Mall for a two-day photo session at center stage Friday and Saturday. Dalton Stalcup was persuaded by his mom to get his picture made with the Easter Bunny, even though he maintained he is too old for that.

Adaline Wagner, 2 months, slept through her first visit with the Easter Bunny with sister Emily Wagner. “His fur is so soft,” said Emily while giving the bunny a hug.

There were egg hunts in every corner of the county on Saturday from Midway to McMinnville. Luna Parsley, 5 months, was literally up to her ears in eggs at the Parks and Recreation hunt on Hoover-Millraney Field.

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