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One killed, 5 injured in crash
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Photo courtesy The Van Buren News-Don Baker was driving the blue pickup which collided head-on with a white Ford F250 with 5 people inside.

A 34-year-old local man lost his life Sunday night in Van Buren County when he triggered a head-on collision on Highway 111.
Don E. Baker of McMinnville was killed in the crash. He was the lone occupant of his pickup.
The vehicle Baker hit contained five people all under the age of 23, including a 1-year-old. They all five suffered injuries, according to a report from the Tennessee Highway Patrol. Three of them were airlifted.
According to the Highway Patrol, Baker was traveling down the mountain from Spencer to Sparta on Sunday around 7:45 p.m. when he passed another vehicle in a no-passing zone. After making the pass, Baker reportedly did not return to his lane. He then struck a Ford F250 pickup loaded with five people head-on. The wreck took place in a construction zone.
The Highway Patrol says alcohol was found in both vehicles.
Baker, who was not wearing a seatbelt, was reportedly killed at the scene.
Katelyn M. Decker, 22, of Jasper was driving the other pickup. She and front-seat passenger Chance R. Ledford, 21, of Tracy City, were reportedly transported to a nearby hospital via ambulance.
The three who were airlifted include Eddie K. Dyer, 19, of Cookeville, who was also a front-seat passenger, and two juveniles, ages 17 and 1, who are both from Cookeville and were not identified. They were in the back seat.
The 1-year-old boy was properly restrained in a child safety seat. No one else in the pickup was wearing a seatbelt.
The Highway Patrol says criminal charges are pending.

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