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State shines praise on city's new streetlights
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McMinnville Electric System and the city of McMinnville have been recognized by the state for receiving the 2015 Governors Environmental Stewardship Award. Pictured, from left, are Tennessee Department of Environmental and Conservation Commissioner Robert J. Martineau Jr., MES general manager and CEO Rodney Boyd, Resource and Development Committee chair Dr. Jeff McKinley, MES operations manager Ralph Dunn, McMinnville Mayor Jimmy Haley, and Gov. Bill Haslam.
James Clark
Updated: Jul 25, 2015, 6:23 PM
Published: Jul 25, 2015, 7:24 PM

Here's an award that really puts the city in a positive light.
The state has honored McMinnville Electric System and the city of McMinnville for their combined efforts in placing LED bulbs in every streetlight in the city.
For this project, the two were recognized with the 2015 Governor's Environmental Stewardship Award in the Energy and Renewable Resources category.
"We're the only one in the Tennessee Valley to have done this," said MES general manager and CEO Rodney Boyd. "We not only did it with our streetlights but with every yard light in the city too. Probably the most important thing is it's cut the city's energy costs in half. That's impressive."
In the lights where the city had been using 100-watt bulbs, they were replaced with 50-watt LED bulbs. Despite the lower wattage, the LED lights appear just as bright in requiring less energy to operate.
McMinnville Mayor Jimmy Haley calls the move to all LED lights a "progressive step" and says the benefits are already being enjoyed with lower energy costs.
"TVA is pleased and views McMinnville as a model city," said Haley. "It's forward-thinking. It's futuristic. It's something we can do to help preserve the environment. It's definitely a win-win."
On top of the environmental advantages, Haley says the LED lights will save money over time.
"There's a savings on a long-term cost analysis," said Haley. "It's also better for MES in terms of regular repair and maintenance."
The state award recognizes exceptional voluntary actions that improve or protect the environment and natural resources.
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