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Schools look to save energy
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A seven-percent reduction in energy costs for Warren County schools is just a start, according to Energy Manager Phillip Crowe, who, along with school board members believes a 20 percent reduction in electrical use is possible.
“The 7.14 percent reduction is significant,” said board member Bill Zechman after Crowe reported the drop in usage when July through December 2010 was compared to the same period in 2011. “But we really believe a 20 percent reduction is feasible.”
Crowe said being vigilant in turning off electronics and lights can lead to major money savings for the school system. As an example of real money savings, Crowe pointed out the total electric bill for the school system was $745,590 from July-December of 2010 but was down to $674,696 during the same period of 2011, marking a $70,893 savings.
“I think we can still save a lot more energy,” Crowe said. “We are on the right road but we still have a long way to go.”
Crowe noted a key to saving even more money is to change habits of school system employees. During his inspections of the several local schools over the Christmas holiday, Crowe said he still found numbers of issues.
“We still have problems with lights being left on a lot after hours and computers being left on,” Crowe said, noting some computers must be left on due to updates during the evening hours. “During my walk-throughs I’ve been finding a lot of monitors, lamps, room lights, overhead projectors and closet lights left on at night.”
In addition to spot checking and encouraging smarter energy use, Crowe said he has installed a flow meter on the high school sports fields in hopes of finding out how to save money in that area.
Incoming Director of Schools Bobby Cox noted savings in energy costs can be used in other areas of education.
“Utility bills are in competition with payrolls and we want payrolls to win,” Cox said, noting reduced utility usage can even save jobs. “We could use a catch phrase, flip a switch, save a teacher.”
Zechman added he would not be opposed to basing part of the school principal grades on saving energy.
“I would like to put energy usage as part of principal ratings,” Zechman noted since the principal is also considered the caretaker of the property where he or she works.
A energy summit meeting will be held later this month with school officials meeting with energy experts from various providers like TVA to try to come up with more ways to further reduce energy costs for the school system.

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