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Mountain Crawl changes course
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McMinnville Mountain Crawl Adventure Race is excluding Pepper Branch Park in this years route. Participants will still enjoy a run through Cumberland Caverns, a bike ride into downtown McMinnville and kayaking on the Barren Fork River.

The third annual McMinnville Mountain Crawl Adventure Race on Sept. 23 is taking a slight detour.
Racers will still enjoy three legs of the race with caving at Cumberland Caverns, biking a scenic route, and kayaking the Barren Fork River.
However, in years past, racers would run through Cumberland Caverns. Upon leaving the cave, they would bike to Pepper Branch Park. From the park, they would kayak to the finish line at Smooth Rapids. This year, racers will bike from the cave to Smooth Rapids, approximately 7.4 miles, and kayak to the finish line at the VFV, approximately six miles. The kayaks are courtesy of Smooth Rapids.
Mountain Crawl is a production of the Warren County Chamber of Commerce.
“Racers can complete this individually or as a team of three, splitting the legs between them,” said Chamber president Mandy Eller. “Think strategically, form an alliance with your coworkers, friends, or family.”
The race is touted as a good test for the seasoned athlete, but is also accommodating for the novice fitness or nature enthusiast.
As it has in the past, an abundance of prizes are up for grabs and there should be something for every competitor.
“Prizes for this year’s event will be better than ever,” said Eller. “We like to award the racers who finish first, middle of the pack, dead last, or are just lucky enough to have their name drawn at the end.
McMinnville officials unanimously approved the new biking course through city streets, with traffic assistance provided by the city Police Department.
Race participants are urged to enjoy lunch refreshments at Smooth Rapids after the race.

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