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Man attacks bank tellers
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A local man was nailed by police after he tried to attack tellers at U.S. Bank with a hammer, the shirtless assailant blasted with pepper spray as he turned on officers.
The suspect, Arlan Pinkard, 32, was subdued by police officers as he stood inside U.S. Bank on Chancery Street around 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, a hammer still in his hand. Police hit the suspect in the face with pepper spray after he came toward them when he was told to drop his weapon.
The pepper spray, which filled the bank lobby with its vapor, floored the suspect and also left officers, who took him to the ground, worse for wear with mouths and eyes full of the choking substance. Pinkard was treated outside the bank by ambulance personnel for the tear gas exposure.
According to preliminary reports, Pinkard walked into the bank and jumped the teller counter. He then grabbed a hammer from behind the counter from a spot where construction was taking place. The suspect then began chasing employees from behind the counter, yelling threats as he brandished the hammer.
Police were called immediately, with employees inside the building encouraging police to hurry since the robber appeared to be infuriated and out of control. Police say there was damage to the inside of the bank caused by Pinkard who was apparently taking out his rage on items within the bank as he was chasing the tellers.
The rage, police suspect, carried over from a domestic incident in which he was involved just minutes before on Kirby Street, located less than five minutes from the bank. Police were actually taking a report on the domestic incident on Kirby Street when they got the alarm about the suspected bank robbery. Officers arrived at the bank within two minutes of the alarm.
Charges were pending against Pinkard at press time. However, police admit they may have problems with charging robbery since they arrived on the scene before the suspect could issue demands for money. However, he is likely to face multiple counts of aggravated assault for threatening tellers and police with the hammer, plus he could face charges of making terroristic threats. While perhaps avoiding bank robbery charges here, federal authorities may end up filing robbery charges on him since their bank robbery statute is much broader. It also carries more prison time.

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