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City considers downtown water area
The Lot mentioned as site
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Pictured is Cumberland Park near the Titans football stadium in downtown Nashville.

McMinnville officials are again discussing a water feature on The Lot in Court Square.
“For years I’ve heard people talking about the possibility of a water feature on Main Street maybe on The Lot,” said Alderman Mike Neal, who made the request during Tuesday night’s meeting of the Board of Mayor and Aldermen. “I would like to ask either the Parks and Recreation Committee or the Building and Grounds Committee, I don’t know which it would fall under, to look at the feasibility of that and the cost.”
Approximately 10 years ago, the city considered installing a water park and band shell, complete with restrooms, bike rack and sidewalks at the request of Carlene Brown, who was McMinnville Parks and Recreation director at that time. However, the idea gained no traction.
The Lot is a flat, grassy area. Given its location in downtown McMinnville, the area has become a popular spot for weddings, concerts, and fundraisers. It is also used during downtown events, such as the Autumn Street Fair and Christmas in the Park to decorate the city’s annual Christmas tree that is placed in the middle of The Lot.
Neal suggests checking out what others have done.
“Maybe we could do something like they have at Bicentennial Mall or Coolidge Park in Chattanooga,” said Neal. “I would just like to ask you to look into that, explore the feasibility of it, the impact on the businesses, and all of those things. It could be something we could do in-house. I think the majority of the work can be done in-house.”
Alderman Steve Harvey said, “Something similar to a fountain with a semi-wading pool? I think that’s a good idea.”
Alderman Ben Newman says there’s a nice water feature next to Titan’s Stadium.
“There’s a great one, I think it’s Cumberland Park, in Nashville right next to the Titans Stadium,” he said. “It’s awesome. It’s a semi-circle area with seating up above it. There are little fountains that shoot up with a zero-entry area. It doesn’t really get over 6 inches deep. Kids were just running around playing in it.”
The water feature, said Neal, can be designed in a way that would allow the water to be turned off and the area still used for weddings and other events.

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