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Sen. Stewart comes to town
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Lacy Garrison
Updated: Aug 25, 2012, 7:31 PM
Published: Aug 25, 2012, 7:32 PM

Saying the realigned 4th District leaves the race for Congress wide open, state Sen. Eric Stewart came to McMinnville on Friday to campaign in hopes of defeating first-term Congressman Dr. Scott DesJarlais.
“There are six counties that are totally new to the 4th District after re-apportionment,” Stewart said Friday while talking to constituents on Court Square. “That means over 60 percent of those voting in the election were not in the district when my opponent was elected two years ago.”
The dramatic change which also trimmed the district, formerly with 24 counties now down to 16, also left the district with one major county – Rutherford County – which carries 37 percent of all the voters in the district.
The 4th District now stretches north past Smyrna, west near Columbia, south past Fayetteville and east to Cleveland, leaving out the greater Chattanooga area. DesJarlais was elected to office following a landslide in 2010 in the old district, defeating incumbent Democrat Lincoln Davis.
Also playing in Stewart’s favor, the candidate believes, are six counties which are in his state Senate district. Stewart is in his first term as state senator, an office he will relinquish given his run for U.S. Representative.
While the newly carved district makes for an interesting race, Stewart said voters will have two very different candidates to choose from.
“There are a lot of differences between us,” Stewart said, noting he disagrees with DesJarlais on going to a voucher system when it comes to Medicare. “The debt and deficit have to be priorities but you don’t have to sacrifice Medicare to do it.”
Stewart believes his time in Nashville in the General Assembly have helped prepare him for Washington, noting if nothing else, he has learned to compromise.
“If all you do is talk to folks who think exactly like you, then you aren’t going anywhere,” Stewart said, noting he has collaborated with Republicans like Judd Matheny on many occasions to get things done. “That’s a problem in Washington, people don’t know how to compromise. We have been able to do that, to a point, in Nashville.”
As for laying out his platform, Stewart questioned why DesJarlais will not debate him on the issues.
“I think it is important the issues are discussed so the voters can make an informed choice,” Stewart said, saying he is ready to debate anytime, anywhere. “I will commit now that if I win in November, two years from now I will accept an invitation to a forum here.”
Local farm partnership brings fresh beef to Warren County Schools
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Published: Apr 2, 2025, 11:31 PM

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