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Students discover dribble power
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Dibrell Schools dribble team performed recently at Warren County High School. Lee Allen Esparza was in the zone with his performance

Dibrell Elementary School’s dribble team took the court during recent basketball action at Warren County High School.
Basketballs in hand, sometimes two at a time, the team of 16 took the court and performed choreographed routines set to music. Wild Cat, the school mascot, also made an appearance. The team is composed of students in grades K-4.
Coach Mike Mullins says the team originated after a visit from Warren County High School girls coach Shae Panter.
The idea behind the little dribble teams, said Mullins, is to give children who are too young for basketball a chance to learn to dribble a basketball effectively and get used to being out on the court. Mullins says team members are having fun and they are highly motivated to learn.
“Some of the things we do are pretty hard,” Mullins said. “They went and worked on it on their own. They came back and could do it. They put in the time and they learn all the moves. My little girl is one of them. She’s gotten to where she can dribble through her legs and she’s just a first-grader. If she ever does want to play ball, she has that background. She has fun doing it. She dribbles through the house. All of them are having fun with it.”
On the team are Jenna Mullins, Nate Boles, Carson Davis, Huck Damon, Lee Allen Esparza, Silar Simmons, Abbyi Bain, Aaron Wilson, Maddox Adams, Lily Rains, Ky Damon, Anabella Culwell, Emily Cantrell, Kennedy Scott, Benjamin Horton, Aleni Bain, and Keagan Thompson.
The mascot is Huck, the only kindergartener on the team.
“Huck’s sister is on the team and his mom is one of those helping us,” said Mullins. “He was here during practices and I wanted to find a way to incorporate him in a routine. We put a mascot head on him and he loved it. He runs out and he slides.”
Last week’s performance was the team’s second performance at the high school.

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