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Irving College School construction continues
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Architect Derrick Clemow says renovations wont be complete at Irving College School by Aug. 10, the first day of the school year.
Lacy Garrison
Updated: Jul 30, 2016, 6:41 PM
Published: Jul 30, 2016, 7:42 PM

While school bells are about to ring for the year, construction crews are working at a furious pace trying to get Irving College School ready to go.
“They’re going to be working right up until time,” said architect Derrick Clemow of Upland Design during a progress report to the Board of Education.
Irving College expansion is estimated to cost $3 million. “I think everyone is going to need to have patience the first couple of weeks of school,” Clemow added.
The updates at the school include an entirely new section, most of which, Clemow revealed, is ready to run a punch list – meaning it is done. The portion includes a modern-looking cafeteria and a new gym, both of which are ready for the school year.
However, remodeling the older part of the school is still ongoing and updates will continue, when possible, as the new school year progresses.
“We are repurposing areas of the old part of the school,” said Clemow, noting engineers are trying to make the best use of space in the old building.
While there will still be some construction going on intermittently through the school year, there is also another big task ahead of planners when it comes to the school, that being constructing a new approach road running to and from Irving College School from Highway 56.
According to civil engineer Dave Almon, once the road is complete there will also need to be some safety aspects addressed on the main highway.
“People are still moving way too fast out there,” Almon said of motorists on Highway 56, noting he hopes the Tennessee Department of Transportation will work with the school to install caution lights around the entrance to the school. “We may also need to contact the sheriff’s department to help slow people down out there.”
Almon said there are still three projects that need to be looked at above and beyond what has already been planned for the school. Those include adding a parking lot that will accommodate 26 more cars, fixing the entrance road in front of the school, and installing new roof drains.
Local farm partnership brings fresh beef to Warren County Schools
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Published: Apr 2, 2025, 11:31 PM

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