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Morrison set to celebrate independence
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Downtown Morrison may be the only place in the county to see fireworks the night of Labor Day.
Morrison Ruritan will sponsor a fun-filled day for the entire family this Monday, Sept. 2. The celebration, normally held July 4, was postponed due to heavy rain on Independence Day. All festivities usually held in downtown Morrison on that day have been moved to Labor Day, including the popular fireworks display.
“This is the first time in history we have ever had to change the date,” said Morrison Ruritan president Mike Holland. “We decided Labor Day is a day most everyone will be off and hopefully everything will go good. We are planning to do everything like we normally do.”
Morrison Ruritan will have its usual festivities which include a baby show/ pageant, flag raising ceremony, Bingo, outdoor games, cake walk, live entertainment, and a fireworks display.
This year the club has added a new age group to the pageant. A Little Miss and Mister Ruritan will be crowned from participants of a newly added 3-5-year-old category.
“We received inquiries from several people requesting that we have an older age group” said pageant chair Darlene Bryant. “Therefore, we decided to add the 3-5-year-old category and call it the Little Miss and Mister Ruritan.”  
The baby show/ pageant is open to everyone with no restrictions on residency. Applications can be picked up at Morrison City Hall, Kathy’s of McMinnville, Ashley’s Attic, Tiaras & Tadpoles and the Warren County Trustee’s office. An early registration fee of $10 is due for all applications turned in prior to Sept. 1. All entries submitted the day of the pageant will be $15. Early applications can be turned in to Darlene Bryant, Warren County Trustee at the Administrative Building, 201 Locust Street in McMinnville.
A concession stand will be selling hamburgers, hotdogs, Prater’s BBQ, french fries and the Ruritan’s famous soft serve ice cream. 
MidDay Farm Report will perform from 6:30 to 8 p.m. when the fireworks extravaganza will begin. 
“We are extremely excited to have MidDay Farm Report join us this year. We know they will put on a good show and we hope to have a record number come out and join us this year”, said Bryant.
Contact any Ruritan member with questions or visit www.morrisonruritan.com or look on Facebook under Morrison Ruritan.
All activities will be near or at the Morrison Ruritan building on West Maple Street in downtown Morrison.

1-2 p.m. – Pageant/ baby show registration 
2-3:30 p.m. – Baby show/ pageant
3:30-4 p.m. – Flag raising ceremony/ national anthem
4-5:30 p.m. – Bingo 
4-5 p.m. – Outdoor games 
5:30-6:30 p.m. – Cake walk 
6:30-8 p.m. – MidDay Farm Report  
8 p.m. or dark – Fireworks

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