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Motorists slide off slick roads
Weekend has 22 accidents reported
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This Chrysler Seabring driven by Jess Zaderiko, 41, triggered a three-car accident Sunday afternoon around 3 p.m. in front of Taco Bell. His vehicle hit a Chevy Impala driven by Elizabeth McKinney, 73, who was stopped at the traffic light. The Impala then hit a Nissan Rogue driven by Charlotte Vaughn, 52, who was also stopped at the light. All occupants denied transport to Saint Thomas River Park Hospital. Zaderiko was cited for following too close.

The winter storm that deposited more than 2 feet of snow in some parts of the Northeast left McMinnville with an official total of 3.5 inches and some parts of the county with more than that.
“There were 8 and 9 inches of accumulation in some areas of the county and we were having to move snow drifts as deep as 3 feet,” said Road Superintendent Levie Glenn, whose department worked around the clock throughout the weekend in what seemed, at times, to be an unwinnable battle against Mother Nature. “We would put down salt and come by with the plow and it’d just fall again right behind us and the temperature was making it hard for the salt to work. It got down into single digits at one point during the weekend.”
Glenn said the road department used 150 tons of Morton’s salt to combat the ice, much of which was made worse by heavy rain that preceded the snow that started before noon Friday.
“Since we had the rain, the snow stuck to the road very quickly,” Glenn said. “We were using four salt trucks and five snow plows and it just kept coming right behind us.”
Glenn said sunshine Sunday, along with higher temperatures, helped turn the tide, although some roads like Upper Faulkner Springs Road remained closed even Sunday after several cars became stuck on the treacherous hill.
According to official accumulation totals recorded at McMinnville Water Plant, there were 3.5 inches of snow that fell at the water plant in West Riverside. Plant manager Ricky Morton noted that accumulation totals were higher north of town and atop Harrison Ferry Mountain and the snow was preceded by 2 inches of rain.
E911 director Chuck Haston said the 2 inches of rain had some areas on the verge of flooding.
“Finger Bluff Road was flooded and it was covered by snow,” Haston said of the double danger presented by the storm when it blew into Warren County.
Haston said the most issues felt by motorists happened during afternoon drive time Friday, between 3 and 6 p.m.
“Because school was out and everyone knew this was coming, I think a lot of people got where they needed to be and stayed there, reducing the issues,” Haston said, noting the problems were encountered by people who were leaving work in the afternoon. “We had reports of 22 stranded motorists or motorists running of the road.”
Haston said the number was light since the record during a snow for reported accidents is 40. He also said 911 received no calls about power outages.
“This was by far less than we’ve seen in the past,” Haston said, pointing out with the accumulation there could have been many more problems.
Haston said he had talked with the local emergency management agency about emergency shelters if power failed, but the contingency plan did not have to be put in motion.

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