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Locke hears 86-person docket
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An 86-person docket was heard Thursday by Judge Bill Locke in General Sessions Traffic Court. Included in court action:
• Brady Meeks was ordered to serve 60 days of an 11-month, 29-day sentence, pay $514 and lose his driver license for fourth-offense driving on a suspended license, driving without insurance and without a seatbelt.
• Travis Bouldin was instructed to serve 10 days of an 11-29 sentence, pay $352 and lose his driver license for third-offense driving on a revoked license.
• Scotty Hendrixson was ordered to serve 12 days of an 11-29 sentence, pay $661 and lose his driver license for second-offense driving on a revoked license, failure to appear in court, and driving without insurance.
• Jose Martinez was instructed to serve 48 hours of an 11-29 sentence, pay $1,129, perform 24 hours public service work and attend DUI school for DUI.
• Clarence Thrower was bound to the grand jury on the charge of DUI.
• Luis Salazar was directed to serve 48 hours of an 11-29 sentence, pay $1,129, perform 24 hours public service work, and attend DUI school for DUI.
• James Evans was ordered to serve 48 hours of an 11-29 sentence, pay $1,109, perform 24 hours public service work, attend DUI school, and lose his driver license for one year for DUI.
• Chris Thompson was given a six-month probationary sentence and must pay $256 and perform 16 hours public service work for resisting stop.
• Brittnie Pate was issued a six-month judicial diversion and must perform 16 hours public service work and pay $408 for criminal impersonation and driving without a license.
• Tina Ripley must pay $1,338 and have her probation extended by 18 months while she is on drug court for public intoxication and failure to appear in court.
• Diane Myers and Pedro Mendez must pay $314 for driving without a license, without insurance and without a seatbelt.
• Kasey White must pay $310 for driving without a license.
• Jose Rodriguez must pay $324 for driving without a license or insurance.
• Ismael Ortega must pay $304 for driving without a license.
• Dakota Robinson must pay $192 for driving without a license.
• Jose Regaldo must pay $212 for driving without a license.
• Nicholas Maglio must pay $219 for driving without a license.
• Frausto Sanchez must pay $212 for driving without a license.
• Ciro Ramos must pay $172 for driving without a license.
• Chris Judkins must pay $162 for driving without a license and without a seatbelt.
• Kellie Dewey, Marcus Taylor, Jerry Fredrick, Douglas Lott and Leslie Hennessee must pay $152 for driving without a license.

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