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Yawn in class leads to assault charge
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A yawn during class escalated into a confrontation that has a Motlow College student charged with assaulting his teacher.
The student, Spencer Kane Adams, has been charged with misdemeanor simple assault after he allegedly cornered his instructor, Elizabeth Honaker, behind her desk after she tossed him out of class after he let out a yawn.
“He made an annoying yawn,” the teacher told the judicial commissioner in swearing out the assault warrant against her student, noting she asked for an apology for his interruption of her class.
Adams reportedly replied that “she would be waiting a while” if she expected an apology from him, to which the teacher countered she needed an apology before she would continue class.
It was at that point Adams reportedly cursed at his teacher, prompting her to tell him to leave class and go see the college dean.
While leaving the class as instructed, the student reportedly returned shortly thereafter and confronted his teacher.
“He became very tense and aggressive,” the teacher said, noting he blocked her behind her desk and began yelling profane language in her face. “He made gestures with his fist.”
Honaker said the student placed her in fear by his actions, even though there was apparently no physical contact. Under state law, contact does not have to occur to constitute the crime of assault. The requirement is only that the aggressor’s actions place the victim in fear of bodily injury.
He will face hearing Jan. 16 before General Sessions Judge Bill Locke.

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