By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support local journalism.
Stevens faces nine charges for thefts
Placeholder Image

A grandmother who went on a never-ending test drive in a stolen car now faces more charges, these having to do with theft.
The woman, Christy Stevens, 52, had already been hit with charges of grand theft for stealing a car from C&C Auto Sales on Beersheba Street. Now she faces charges for a variety of thefts, some of which grew from her auto heist.
She was first charged when she made off with a car after claiming she wanted to take it on a test drive.
“She walked onto the lot and entered the office and talked with the owner,” said McMinnville police officer Richard Teachout. “He asked for a driver’s license before giving a test drive.”
The woman said “let me go get my license” and left the office.
“The owner watched her go get her things and throw them into a parked vehicle the owner had been driving with the keys inside,” Teachout revealed, noting the owner came running out of the office to flag her down. “She drove off the lot at a high rate of speed.”
The owner and his stepson gave chase and followed the vehicle to South High Street where they were able to get around her and make contact. However, she refused to stop.
It was during her run from the car lot owner Stevens smashed the vehicle when she rammed another vehicle while trying to get away. After stealing the vehicle, it is now alleged she took a deposit bag she found inside. The bag contained blank checks. The checks were not inside the vehicle when it was recovered by police. However, the checks were found in Stevens’ possession when police arrived to arrest her for the auto theft.
The thefts of the vehicle and its contents aren’t the only trouble Stevens faces. Police say four days after she stole the vehicle from the car lot, she returned to Beersheba Street and broke into a building owned by All-O-K’sions. During her illegal visit, police say she rifled through vehicles inside the building and stole several items.
“A video recording at the time of the burglary and theft shows her rambling through several vehicles,” said McMinnville police detective Todd Rowland.
Stevens now faces nine criminal counts including theft, burglary, driving on a revoked license and leaving the scene of an accident. She waived her right to preliminary hearing on those counts and has been bound to the grand jury.

Local farm partnership brings fresh beef to Warren County Schools
local news.png

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