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Qualifying deadline approaches
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JL Jacobs
Published: Dec 10, 2023, 5:35 AM

Next year is going to be a busy year for elections. Several major political contests are scheduled with the biggest races being the federal election for president in November in addition to U.S. and Tennessee senate and representative races. There are not as many local races this year in Warren County, but the two most important would be property assessor and some school board positions.

According to Susie Davenport, Warren County Administrator of Elections, the qualifying deadline is fast-approaching for Warren County Property Assessor office, Dec.14 at noon to be exact. This is for prospective candidates running as a Democrat or Independent.

The Warren County Republican Party has already chosen its nominee for County Property Assessor, Jeff T. McGee. The party chose McGee via its first county-wide caucus this November at the Milner Recreational Center.

Warren County’s current property assessor is Beth Martin. She plans to run for re-election as an independent this year.  Martin’s decision to run as an independent is a direct result of increasing partisan politics.

“My first campaign for the office started in 2012 when the previous assessor, Carolyn Miller, decided to retire. I had been working for Carolyn for six years and decided that I would take a chance and run for the office. I knew that the tasks of the office would definitely need someone with experience, so that is why I threw my hat in the ring,” explained Martin, remembering how she first decided to run for office. 

“In making the decision to run under a political party or as an independent at that time, practically every office, as well as commissioners, were held by Democrats. Jeff McGee and I, along with nine other candidates, ran as Democrats in the 2012 primary. I won that primary and continued on to win the general election.” In 2016, she ran unopposed.

In the 2020 election, she and McGee both ran again for the office. Martin won by 600-700 votes. This will be Martin’s fourth term if re-elected. In 2019, Martin was awarded the Three Star Certification before the Tennessee Association of Assessing Officers. 

“I feel that your political stance should not have an effect on how the assessor’s office, or any other local office for that matter, is run,” said Martin. She feels the increasing pressure to choose a party affiliation is unwarranted.

“The assessor of property is elected to assess all property in the county, fairly and equitably,” Martin said. This, she claims, is her focus, not her political allegiance. Therefore, she will run as an independent in next year’s race.

Warren County will be holding three distinct elections in 2024, according to Davenport. These will be March 5, Aug. 1 and Nov. 5

On March 5, both the Republican and Democratic Presidential Preference Primary along with the Warren County Democratic Primary will be held. The deadline to register to vote in those elections is Feb. 5. Early voting will take place between Feb. 14 and 27 in the Early Voting Room at the Warren County Administrative Building and Feb. 21 - 27 at both the Morrison and Centertown satellite locations.     

On Aug. 1 there will be primary elections for U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives Districts 4 and 6, Tennessee Senate 16 District and Tennessee House of Representatives District 47. General elections will be held for any vacant state judicial offices and applicable county offices -- property assessor and school board districts 2, 4 and 6. The qualifying period to run for those offices is Feb. 5 through April 4 at noon. Registration deadline for the Aug. 1 election is July 2. Early voting will take place from July 12 - 27 in the Early Voting Room at the back of the County Administrative Building and July 22 - 27 at both the Morrison and Centertown satellite locations.    

On Nov. 5 there will be a general election held for all candidates (including independents) for U.S. President, U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives Districts 4 and 6, Tennessee Senate 16th District and Tennessee House of Representatives 47th District.  McMinnville, Morrison, Centertown and Viola will have municipal elections. Candidates for those municipal elections will qualify by petition during the June 20 - Aug. 18 at noon qualifying period. Early voting will take place between Oct. 16 - 31 in the Early Voting Room at the back of the County Admin-istrative Building and Oct. 25 - 31 at both the Morrison and Centertown satellite locations. 

There are currently 23,330 active registered voters in Warren County. For those interested in adding to this number, the deadline to register to vote is Feb. 5. In Tennessee, you do not have to declare a party preference to register to vote.
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