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WCHS choir to fill Cumberland Caverns with song
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Members of the WCHS choir, from left, Cassidy Prater, Eli Eldridge and Allie Dixon will be performing at Cumberland Caverns on Oct. 22 for Choir in the Cave. Tickets must be purchased by Oct. 14.

The WCHS choir will be howling from the depths of Cumberland Caverns just in time for the spooking season.
The choir will be singing Halloween favorites such as “Monster Mash,” “Thriller,” and “Grim Grinning Ghosts” during a special concert brewing for Oct. 22.
“They sound awesome,” said WCHS choir director Kennette Dixon. “We’ll be singing some Halloween songs and some non-Halloween songs. This will be our select ensemble of 45 students, which is the group we’re taking to the Disney Candlelight Processional in Orlando.”
The event has been dubbed Choir in the Cave and it’s a fundraiser for the Disney trip. It’s the second straight year the WCHS choir has auditioned for, and been selected to participate in, the prestigious Candlelight Processional.
The Morrison Elementary choir will be the special guest of the WCHS choir for the Cumberland Caverns event. The two choirs will treat visitors to a spine-chilling performance in the haunting confines of the Volcano Room, the famous home of Bluegrass Underground.
Guests are encouraged to wear a costume as choir members will be dressed for the occasion.
Tickets can be purchased exclusively through Cumberland Caverns until Oct 14, or while supplies last. Tickets for the show are $10. A combo package that includes the show and a tour of the cave is available for $22.
Choir in the Cave is set for Saturday, Oct. 22, from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Cumberland Caverns can be reached at 668-4396.

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