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One incumbent out as School Board election nears
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Two hopefuls have emerged in the upcoming School Board election for a spot being vacated by a retiring board member.
The interest comes in the 4th District race where Bob Young is the incumbent. It is there Dr. Charles Collier and Tonya Bess have picked up qualifying papers to seek the spot. The election is in August.
Neither prospective candidate has turned in papers to qualify. All candidates have until April 5 at noon to qualify for the race. There is no party primary for the School Board seats as they are all considered independent candidates.
“I’ve missed a lot of my grandchildren’s ball games and I worked as a teacher for 24 years and was on the School Board for 12,” said Young, who plans to not seek re-election to a fourth term. “I’ve enjoyed my time on the board and I think we’ve accomplished quite a bit in those 12 years.”
The six-member School Board is elected in staggered four-year terms with the 2nd, 4th and 6th Districts coming up for election this year. The other incumbents include 2nd District representative Bill Zechman and 6th District representative Scott Holmes, both of whom told the Standard they plan to seek re-election.
None of the incumbents have picked up or returned qualifying papers.
Among the School Board’s responsibilities is appointing a director of schools, with the present board appointing Bobby Cox to take the place of Dr. Jerry Hale, who is retiring in September, the same day the re-elected or newly elected School Board members will begin their terms.
To qualify for the School Board, a candidate must be an adult and hold at least a high school diploma. The person must also be a Warren County resident in the district in which they are running and must get at least 25 signatures from registered voters within that district on his or her qualifying petition.
School Board members earn $260 per month in base pay and $15 per committee meeting.

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