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Golden to shine in concert
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Chris Golden, formerly of The Oak Ridge Boys, is slated to perform at Cumberland Chapel Freewill Baptist Church on Nov. 11 at 6 p.m. The public is invited to attend.

Chris Golden will be in concert at Cumberland Chapel Freewill Baptist Church on Saturday, Nov. 11.
Formerly with The Oak Ridge Boys, Golden garnered his first number one song recently with “A Different Light” and was named 2017 Crossover Artist of the Year, among other accolades.
“From an early age I was surrounded by music on both sides of the family,” said Golden, “and it was something that came very natural and easy for me.”
After 17 years on the road with The Oak Ridge Boys, and stints with Alabama and Restless Heart, Golden finally found himself on a solo journey.
Local resident Kathy Ann Lunsford said she met Golden years ago and arranged his visit to the church.
“This will be the first time he’s been in McMinnville,” said Lunsford. “I’ve known him since the early 80s. I grew up listening to The Oak Ridge Boys and his dad is one of The Oak Ridge Boys. We met at Country Music Fan Fair, when it was still Fan Fair. Now it’s the CMA Fest. He’s super nice and really down to earth.”
Cumberland Chapel Freewill Baptist Church is located at 229 Rocky River Road in Rock Island. Admission is free, but a love offering will be taken.

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