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McKeon reportedly rams woman during car chase
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A man accused a ramming a woman’s vehicle as she tried to speed away from him during a car chase has been hit with three charges.

Jason James McKeon, 34, has been charged with theft of property under $10,000, aggravated domestic assault with a vehicle, and reckless endangerment.

According to warrants for McKeon’s arrest, the high-speed chase took place July 13 when he was passed by a female driving on Bybee Branch Road. When McKeon recognized the driver, he “came out behind her at a high rate of speed,” the warrant says.

The female made a couple quick turns and eventually turned into an apartment complex in an effort to elude McKeon. However, she couldn’t give him the shake and he continued to follow her at high speeds. Eventually he was able to pull up beside her and hit her vehicle while they were driving.

The victim was finally able to escape by running a stop sign and calling 911 as soon as she was a safe distance away.

That incident reportedly followed a theft where McKeon stole a 1989 Chevrolet van from the Walmart parking lot around 7 a.m. that same day. The victim in this unrelated case said he noticed his stolen van parked on a trailer attached to a flatbed truck in a driveway on Peers Street.

The victim asked the driver of the flatbed, identified as McKeon, why he had his van. McKeon reportedly stated he was driving the van to West End Avenue to unload it and did just that. The van owner called police and followed him.

Once the van was dropped off, parts were found to be missing including the radiator, AC compressor and battery. Tools in the van valued at $1,000 were also missing.

Police caught up to McKeon and booked him at Warren County Jail. Officer Justin Colwell read him his rights and he reportedly waived them.

“Mr. McKeon confessed that he thought the van was abandoned,” said Colwell in the arrest warrant. “He stated he had been watching the van for several weeks. … He stated he intended to take the van to the scrap yard. Mr. McKeon stated there were tools such as wrenches and pliers and other tools of like nature inside the van that he took.”

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