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River the dog rescued from Collins River ledge
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Do you ever wish your animal could talk? Warren County Animal Control director Kim Pettrey is having one of those moments.
“When I take River outside, he looks down the road like he wants to go home really bad,” said Pettrey of a dog in her care. “He’s missing someone. I know someone is missing him just as much, but he can’t tell me who his owner is. I wish he could.”
River, named by Pettrey because he was found teetering on a ledge beside the Collins River in the area of Veterans Memorial Bridge and the VFW, is a black lab and is approximately 2 years old.
“A young couple was down by the bridge and they saw this dog on a ledge,” said Pettrey. “They got closer and noticed he was stuck on the ledge. He probably slid down the cliff. They were able to rescue him and they brought him here. He was in pretty bad shape. There is no telling how long he had been there.”
River had visible cuts and scraps along a rear leg. He was taken to local veterinarian Dr. Sam Young who diagnosed him with a dislocated hip that would require surgery.
“Dr. Young had to shave off the top part of the hip socket, put the leg back into the socket, and place a metal plate over it to keep it in place while it heals,” said Pettrey. “I don’t know how long River was there, but it had to be a while. The hip kept popping back out, which is why Dr. Young had to perform surgery and place a metal plate.”
Money to pay for the surgery came from a fund that was started at Dr. Young’s office to pay for emergencies such as this.
“Thank goodness people have made donations,” said Pettrey. “Thanks to those donations and Dr. Young giving me a discount, I had enough available for the surgery.”
Local residents who want to help replenish the fund for future emergencies can make a donation at Dr. Young’s office, located at 4021 Sparta Highway, by telling them it’s for Warren County Animal Control.
The good news, says Pettrey, is River is expected to make a full recovery and will retain full use of his leg. While he recovers, the search has begun for his owner. If that person cannot be found, there will be a search for a new home.
“I believe he belongs to someone,” said Pettrey. “He’s house trained. He will wait until I let him outside before he uses the bathroom. When I let him outside, the way he looks down the road breaks my heart. It’s like he’s saying ‘I’m ready to go home now.’”
River has been in the care of Animal Control for more than a week and is ready for adoption, unless his owner comes forward.
Animal Control is located at 169 Paws Trail and can be reached at 507-3647.

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