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Singer begins new journey
Allen tells of his cancer diagnosis
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John Allen, lead singer of Journey tribute band Faithfully, says he was diagnosed with colon cancer in February. He performed last week at Park Theater just 10 days after surgery.

March is National Colon Cancer Awareness Month, a time to spread the word about detection.
Last week’s Park Theater concert with Faithfully, a Journey tribute band, turned into a rally for education when lead singer John Allen announced he was recently diagnosed with stage three colon cancer and had undergone surgery just 10 days prior to the concert.
“I didn’t know if I would mention it or not,” said Allen of his diagnosis. “This is Colon Cancer Awareness Month so let’s raise some awareness and maybe save a life.”
Allen said he has no family history of colon cancer, doesn’t smoke, eats relatively healthy and is 47 years old.
Colorectal cancer, or colon cancer, occurs in the colon or rectum. When discovered early, it is highly treatable. Most colon cancers develop first as polyps, which are abnormal growths inside the colon or rectum that may later become cancerous if not removed. There are very few, if any, symptoms.
Unbeknownst to Allen, he began having one of the few symptoms of colon cancer in April 2016 with blood in the stool which he attributed to the consumption of too many BC Powders. Persistent abdominal discomfort would follow.
“August, September, October, I started having pain that I thought was either gallstones or my appendix on the right side of my abdomen,” said Allen. “I went in to get a CT scan and it read I had thickening of the colon which is a sign of either cancer, Crohn’s disease or diverticulitis.”
Two other symptoms that some people have experienced are a change in bowel habits and fatigue, with accompanying weight for no known reason, nausea or vomiting.
Allen’s wife urged him to schedule a colonoscopy. He readily admits he should have listened, but in-stead waited until February 2017.
“I was reluctant and kept putting it off,” said Allen. “On Valentine’s Day, it worried me so much that I booked a colonoscopy. I was diagnosed with stage three colon cancer.”
There are four stages of colon cancer. At stage four, the cancer has spread from the colon to other or-gans in the body.
Even if it spreads into nearby lymph nodes, surgical treatment followed by chemotherapy is highly ef-fective. In the most difficult cases – when the cancer has spread to the liver, lungs or other sites – treatment can help make surgery an option for many, as well as prolonging and adding to one’s quality of life. Research is constantly being done to learn more and provide hope for people no matter what stage they are.
Colon cancer affects men and women of all racial and ethnic groups, and is most often found in people 50 years or older. However, incidence in those younger than 50 is on the rise. In fact, 11 percent of co-lon cancer diagnoses and 18 percent of rectal cancer diagnoses occur in those under 50.
Colon cancer takes the lives of more than 50,000 people every year. Colon cancer is the third most common cancer in the U.S., and the second leading cause of cancer death.
Post-op by 10 days didn’t stop the music. Allen’s presence didn’t show any signs of hindrance as he worked the stage, spun his microphone stand in the air and during intermission, came off the stage and smiled for pictures with fans.
“I didn’t want to disappoint our fans in McMinnville,” said Allen. “I’m under a restriction to not lift any-thing over 15 pounds or I’ll rip my surgical stitches out. I wasn’t able to take my pain medication during the day because it makes me drowsy. Regardless, I wasn’t about to cancel the concert. It wasn’t going to happen.”
Allen has an appointment with an oncologist to determine treatment options with radiation and/or chemotherapy.

 

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