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Pham has sexual registry violation charge dismissed
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A man charged with driving with a license under an assumed name, which lawmen believe had something to do with his violating the sexual registration law, has been sentenced for criminal impersonation.
The suspect, Dieu Cong Pham, 31, aka Thoi The Ngyen, was ordered to serve seven days of a six-month sentence and perform 32 hours public service work for criminal impersonation. The more serious charge of violating the sexual offender registration law was dismissed with the court ordering the issue between Tennessee and his former state of Minnesota needs to be resolved.
Pham was arrested last year for driving on a suspended license following a traffic stop by sheriff’s deputy Jason Richardson. It was then the suspect reportedly claimed his alias of Ngyen was his real name and he was booked under that name. However, a check of Ngyen’s fingerprints through the national crime computer during his booking revealed the man is really Pham and he is a convicted sex offender from Minnesota living in Warren County.
A check revealed Pham had not registered himself here as is required for all convicted sex offenders. The law requires registration of any change of address for a convicted offender within 48 hours of the move.
Following his original arrest and bonding out on the suspended license charge, authorities were surprised to discover Pham had gone to the state driver licensing center and obtained another driver license under the Ngyen name.
“I arrested him on Sept. 3 for driving on a suspended license under the name Thoi The Ngyen,” Richardson said. “On Sept. 20 he applied for, and received, a new Tennessee driver’s license under the name Thoi The Ngyen, the same name for which I originally arrested him two weeks earlier.”
It was not revealed how Pham was able to obtain a new driver’s license under his assumed name.

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