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Tentative contract agreement reached by Bridgestone, union
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A strike may have been averted at the midnight hour as a tentative agreement has been reached between labor and management at Bridgestone.
“We are very optimistic,” said Van Tenpenny of the United Steel Workers Local 1155. “Our negotiating committee wouldn’t have signed the tentative agreement if they didn’t think it was viable.”
The tentative agreement affects the six Bridgestone plants located across the country. Saturday marked the expiration of their 2009 contract; however, both sides agreed to continue consideration of a last-minute management proposal leaving the union workers operating under an hour to hour extension of the old contract. Ninety-nine percent of the union had voted to strike if an equitable agreement was not reached.
While there has been a tentative agreement, the contract must be ratified by the rank and file of the union before it is officially accepted. The timeframe for such acceptance or denial could be well over a week.
“We are still waiting on summaries of the proposed contract,” Tenpenny said, noting it could be the middle of this week before the local plant’s executive committee gets the preliminary reports in its hands.
At this point Tenpenny said he is only hearing rumors of particulars in the contract.
“I’d hate to comment on any highlights until we know the official wording,” Tenpenny said, adding that details will become available after the committee completely evaluates the paperwork comprising the contract proposal.
Once the local executive committee reads the report, it will call in the 40 union stewards and discuss the contract. After that the proposal will be sent to the workers and a vote taken.
While each plant in the Bridgestone chain has its own negotiating committee as well as its individual concerns, the local plant is tied in with the other plants when it comes to things such as a pension plan.

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