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School locked down during manhunt
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Jeff Hodges is the subject of a local manhunt

A manhunt continues for a fugitive still at large after forcing two schools to be on lockdown Wednesday afternoon.
Officers were still looking for Jeff Hodges, 40, as of press time last night after he fled the scene of a traffic stop near Warren County High School. Both WCHS and adjacent Hickory Creek Elementary were placed on lockdown for about 45 minutes Wednesday afternoon, but the lockdown was lifted at the end of the school day so students could leave.
The incident began Wednesday afternoon when a sheriff’s deputy passed a car driven by Heather Dawn Fralix, 38, and noticed Hodges as a passenger in the vehicle. Knowing Hodges had warrants against him for burglary, the deputy turned around and turned on his blue lights.
According to Sheriff Jackie Matheny, the vehicle slowed down but didn’t come to a complete stop. While it was traveling at a slow speed, Hodges popped open the sunroof, climbed through it, and jumped from the car while it was still moving. He was seen running through the residential area next to WCHS.
“He has a history of running,” said Sheriff Matheny. “I’ve been sheriff here for 20 years and he’s been in and out of prison the majority of that time. It was about two years ago he escaped from the White County Jail and they found him at a meth lab. He just recently got out of prison and now he’s into this.”
Officers with the Warren County Sheriff’s Department and McMinnville Police Department converged on the scene but could not locate Hodges. Sheriff Matheny said a car was stolen from a nearby neighborhood Wednesday night and speculated it could have been Hodges, but said he has no way of knowing for sure.
Meanwhile, Fralix was arrested charged with two counts of aggravated assault and one count of evading arrest for re-portedly trying to run over a deputy during the traffic stop. Her vehicle was finally pulled over near the gym entrance to WCHS and was eventually towed from that spot.
Matheny said Hodges has a known address in town and deputies have been actively looking for him.
“We worked all night, but he’s still on the run,” Matheny said Thursday morning. “We’re going to keep working till we find him.”

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