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Smith a Hometown Hero
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Tessa Smith was recently selected by McMinnville Fall Crawl 5K to be its third Hometown Hero. The Centertown Elementary student was diagnosed with a muscular cancer in 2010.
“Tessa is what I would call a reluctant hero,” said Joshua Crain, who is organizing the race with his wife, Ashly, and Main Street McMinnville. “She doesn’t like the spotlight and attention. Her story is one of quiet resolve. She has faced a terrible foe and is overcoming, yet is humble. To us, that makes her a hero.”
The 5K will start in downtown McMinnville Oct. 29 beginning at 3 p.m. with all proceeds going to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Smith will join Hometown Heroes Kelsi Caten and Andy Dunn in starting the race.
Back in mid-March 2010, Tessa was in Florida for a national cheerleading competition with her all-star squad. During some free time, she had lunch with her family and went to Magic Kingdom.
“After taking in the park for a couple of hours, she noticed a knot in her right cheek that was just over an inch in diameter,” said Kami Smith, Tessa’s mother. “After taking her to the emergency room that evening, it was determined to be a blocked salivary gland since it presented itself so quickly.”
Upon returning home, Tessa visited her pediatrician who agreed with the diagnosis. However, the family was asked to keep an eye on the knot for fluctuation and to return in one week.
Eventually an ear, nose and throat specialist determined it to be a mass and removed it April 26.
“We were assured that because of its sudden onset, it would likely be benign,” said Smith. “Before pathology was complete, the doctor’s office called us and said we needed to come and speak with the doctor as soon as we could. At that point, we knew the news would not be what was expected.”
Tests at Vanderbilt confirmed a diagnosis of Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma, a muscular cancer that was wrapped around the main muscle in Tessa’s jaw. It’s the muscle that controls chewing, smiling, blinking, etc. on the right side of her face.
A 10-month scheduled regimen of chemotherapy and six weeks of radiation were ordered. Surgery on May 17 placed a port under her skin which would be used for her chemotherapy treatments.
“Although the road was a difficult and worrisome one to travel, Tessa received her last chemo on Feb. 16 and is in remission at this point,” said Smith. “She is back in school at Centertown, building back depleted muscle, and working hard to regain the skills to fully participate in the competitive cheerleading she enjoys so much.”
Tessa, health permitting, will be on hand with her family to officially begin the race. To fit in with the spirit of the Halloween-related event being held on the same day as the race, contestants are encouraged to dress in their favorite Halloween costume.
Admission for the 5K race is $25. A kids fun dash will be $15. Registration can be made at www.active.com, or at McMinnville Civic Center. For more information, call Main Street McMinnville at 506-5335.

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