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Vandals riddle school with graffiti
County building, two vehicles also targeted
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Pictured is graffiti spray painted on a back wall at Warren Academy.

Vandals hit five targets over the weekend, spray painting walls and vehicles in the area of Locust and Spring streets.
The vandalism, all involving red spray paint, occurred over the weekend. Among those hit were Warren County Administrative Offices, Warren Academy, and CPS Probation.
Two vehicles were also painted, a county pickup used by the Assessor of Property and a van used by the county’s Litter Program.
“At some point over the weekend, the buildings and vehicles were tagged,” said McMinnville Police Department Det. Todd Rowland. “We got the call this morning. The school has video cameras. We’ve pulled the footage from the cameras to review it. Hopefully, we can find out who did this.”
Warren County Sheriff’s Department is also assisting with the investigation due to it involving a school.
The vandals used gang signs, swastikas, and vulgarity.
It appears the vandals tried to initial their work, or point the finger of suspicion in the direction of someone else, by placing “R was hear” and “so was BJ” on the wall of the alternative school.
Rowland says the use of gang signs points to vandals who are not gang associated.
“There was Crips tagging and Blood tagging, so we do not feel like it was anyone who is gang affiliated,” said Rowland. “This is going to cost a lot of money to repair. They sprayed the headlight lenses on the van. If that won’t come off, they’ll have to be replaced.”
As for the aftermath, it will be the property owners who will be required to clean up the mess – barring the capture of the vandals. Under the city’s graffiti ordinance, the property owners have 10 days to clean up the graffiti before the city comes in and cleans it and charges the property owners for the job.
In the case of the vandals, if they are caught, they will be required to make restitution for any damage they cause, as well as serving any sentence the court might impose. The city ordinance also says if vandals are identified prior to the clean-up being done by the owners or the city, then the vandals would have just 72 hours to clean up the mess at their own expense.

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