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Police car battle to resume tonight
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McMinnville officials will be eyeing new bids for a McMinnville Police Department patrol car Tuesday night after a past bid from an out-of-town dealership was rejected.
Safety Committee members Jimmy Bonner, Mike Neal and Rick Barnes voted unanimously in January to deny the current bid and go out for new bids in an effort to buy a vehicle from a local dealership. Barnes says he is in favor of buying locally.
“We went out for bids because we want to buy local,” Barnes said. “I don’t know how you feel about buying locally, but I think everyone should try to buy local. I work out of town, but I wait until I get back in town to buy gas.”
Rejected last month was a bid received in September 2012 for a 2013 Chevrolet Impala police pursuit sedan from Chevrolet of Murfreesboro in the amount of $20,695. At that time, officials accepted that bid over one received from Kidd Ford for a 2013 Ford police pursuit sedan in the amount of $22,596.
When another vehicle was needed by McMinnville Police Department, Police Chief Bryan Denton urged officials to accept another vehicle for the same $20,695 bid because the department was in a “minor bind” and needed a vehicle sooner than later.
“Time is not terribly of the essence, but the sooner we can get the vehicle the better,” Denton said.
When officials discussed not accepting the bid in an effort to go out for bids and maybe get a lower one from a local dealer, Denton warned it has been his experience bids do not change.
Denton’s experience was correct. The numbers received during a new bidding process were relatively unchanged, with Kidd Ford’s bid for a Ford being approximately 10 percent higher than the lowest bid submitted for a Chevy Impala.
Alderman Rick Barnes argued in September 2012 and in January 2013 he would rather buy locally. He says he will continue to push the point this month.
“The city is partnering with the Southern Standard and its Try Here Buy Here campaign, but we consistently buy our vehicles out of town,” said Barnes. “Terry Kidd’s bid is under 10 percent less than the lowest bid and it’s on a better product.”
Barnes says he called Terry Kidd, the owner of Kidd Ford, and asked about the state of his business.
“He has 28 employees with benefits and pays $700,000 a year in payroll,” Barnes said. “We say we want more jobs here, but we purchase items out of town. If you want more jobs here, you have to buy here.”
State law requires officials to offer a fair bidding process and accept the lowest and best bid, regardless of business location. Preference to a local business can only be given if the price and item offered is the same as a company that’s not local.
The meeting to discuss the bids will be held on the third floor of city hall and begins tonight at 5:45 p.m.

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