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County hops aboard tourism boat
KayakWEB
Kayaking has become a big draw for our area with the Barren Fork and Collins rivers.

Tourists are “All Shook Up” about visiting Tennessee.
The state had a record-breaking year for tourism revenue in 2016, according to numbers released last week by Tennessee economic officials.
With attractions ranging from Graceland to the Great Smoky Mountains, Tennessee saw its direct tourism dollars increase 4.7 percent from 2015 to 2016. That resulted in $19.3 billion in total revenue.
In Warren County, officials are looking to increase the money generated from kayaking. The Chamber of Commerce has been awarded a $17,000 grant for signage along a popular river route, the development of maps indicating river access point, and rebranding our community.
It’s a 50-50 matching grant from the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development. The total project will be $34,000.
The push for river signage may not be seen as a huge benefit for local kayakers, many of whom know their surroundings. However, people who are unfamiliar with the area can experience directional difficulty.
“With Smooth Rapids estimating their out-of-town customers at 80 percent of their rental business, there are plenty of people who aren’t sure where they are on the river,” said Chamber president Mandy Eller. “This can also present safety issues. If someone needs help along the river, they may not have a reference to tell rescuers where to find them.”
The signage provided by this grant will pay for mile markers along the most popular river route from Pepper Branch Park to the VFW, a float that takes around four hours.
The river access maps will help with those from out of town needing to find a place to drop their boat. Google Maps does not have each of these marked. Though river access maps do exist somewhat online, these will also have local restaurants and tourism attractions on the maps to enhance the visitor experience and encourage more tourism spending.
“Our rivers are a focal point of our tourism strategy going forward,” said Eller. “All other tourism can lead back to our rivers, whether they are the purpose of a visit or something extra to catch. Best of all, they can’t be taken away. This beckons the call for each of us to take care of them and the people on them.”
The company selected for the rebranding is Designsensory out of Knoxville. Its tourism marketing experience spans several states and includes projects in Augusta, Ga., Newark, N.J., Rossford, Ohio, and several Tennessee communities.
The Chamber has recently partnered with Designsensory on a marketing assistance program to provide a very modern, engaging video and marketing platform for industrial recruitment of businesses as well as employees.

Tennessee Tourism at a Glance 2016

• Tourism payroll -- $4.3 billion
• Tourism sales tax -- $1.7 billion
• New jobs created – 19,100
• Every Tennessee county had more than $1 million in tourism revenue in 2016
TN Dept. of Tourism Development

 

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