By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support local journalism.
Frightful fun
'It' sparks pranks around town
itWEB
Either a homicidal clown is lurking beneath the streets of McMinnville or a prank has marked the release of Stephen Kings It at Three Star Cinema. The It prank is the placement of red balloons on storm water drains depicting a scene from the movie.

Almost three decades since the Stephen King miniseries “It” appeared on ABC, a movie “It” has taken hold in Warren County.
The movie released Thursday night is a remake of the miniseries that aired on ABC over two nights in November 1990. It was considered a network success, attracting 30 million viewers during its premiere.
In the movie and miniseries, both based on King’s book, a monster takes the shape of a clown called Pennywise. One scene depicts the vicious clown attempting to lure a child into an underground drainage system with a red balloon.
The scene has provoked an “It” reaction with red balloons being placed at storm water drains around the country and around McMinnville.
“I am constantly amazed at how otherwise reasonable people can get caught up in the moment coupled with a social media hysteria,” said McMinnville Police Chief Bryan Denton. “This is someone feeding off the latest movie trailer. As I have said in the past, my advice is get your news from the Southern Standard and local radio, not Facebook.”
While the balloons do not signify a homicidal clown is lurking under the streets of the city, they could help threaten a box office record. Much like the miniseries did in 1990, the movie is projected to draw in the viewers. The horror movie, which cost $35 million to produce, is projected to gross $70 million in domestic ticket sales Friday through Sunday in the U.S. and Canada.
According to Box Office Mojo, the biggest R-rated horror opening of all time is $58 million from “Hannibal” in 2002. The biggest September opening ever is $48.5 million from “Hotel Transylvania 2.”

Local farm partnership brings fresh beef to Warren County Schools
local news.png

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