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Radio, TV team up to stress school bus safety
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Public radio WCPI 91.3 FM and the Warren County School System’s television channel WCS-TV are collaborating to produce school bus safety reminders.
These public service announcements, all recorded by local students, began broadcasting Wednesday morning on WCPI and are aimed at reminding everyone that nothing is more important, or more urgent, than watching out for the safety and well-being of children.
 Reminding motorists to drive carefully and to be alert when in the presence of school buses, the initial radio announcements were recorded Tuesday morning. WCS-TV’s Michele Fuston oversaw Bobby Ray Memorial Elementary fifth-graders Kinsley Lorance, Abby Regan, Caden Stubblefield and Christian Weeter, who recorded the PSAs. Joe Harvey videotaped the messages.
 The PSAs will be taped at all of the county’s elementary schools. Video versions on WCS-TV, which is BLTV Channel 180, will begin showing in the coming days.
 “The children themselves and their parents must also take responsibility for their safety,” said School Board Member Bill Zechman, a WCPI producer. “Private motorists share a large part of this responsibility and are a very basic factor in the overall safety picture.”
 Since WCPI is a non-profit public service agency, the announcements are being presented without cost to the school system. Some local businesses have signed on as financial underwriters to help keep the radio station on the air and in a position to offer this type of public service.
 ”The county schools have the duty not only to educate our children but also to provide a safe, protective environment for them whether they are in the classroom or on or near a school bus,” said Zechman. “While it’s impossible to eliminate all risks, the system and its student transportation contractor, Durham School Services, are trying to minimize the risks everywhere possible.”

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