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Pioneers win 31-7 over Lebanon
Nunley Stadium rocks as Pioneers down Devils
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The WCHS student section shows its enthusiasm Friday night as the Pioneer football team steamrolled Lebanon, 31-7. Warren County stays at home for a game against Cookeville this coming Friday.

Warren County gave Lebanon the Hardee’s treatment when the Blue Devils rolled into McMinnville on Friday night.
The Pioneers brought Lebanon to the ground, smashing their way to their first victory of the season.
It was a dominating performance.
Warren County jumped out to a 17-0 halftime lead behind a defense that refused to let Lebanon up for air. The Pioneers added the first two TDs of the second half to build a 31-0 lead before Lebanon finally scored in the final minute.
It was Warren County’s most impressive defensive performance since the Pioneers shut out Cumberland County 41-0 in the last game of the 2014 season.
Pioneer highlights included a booming, 43-yard FG from kicker Jakob Morin and a turnover-free game from QB Isaiah Grayson, who accounted for three TDs, two rushing and one passing.
Punishing tailback Raleigh Woods plowed his way for 105 yards rushing, his second straight 100-yard rushing game.
The win evens Warren County’s record at 1-1. It was the first of four straight home games for the Pioneers, who will face Cookeville at Nunley Stadium this Friday night.
For complete game story, see page 1B.

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