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Try Here Buy Here winner goes on big shopping spree
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It has been a whopper of a shopping spree for one local youngster who won the grand prize last week in the Try Here Buy Here giveaway.
“I spent most of the money in one day,” said Kasy Valadez, a 10-year-old Bobby Ray student. With her thumb and forefinger about an inch apart, she added, “I have a little bit left.”
Kasy won $1,000 worth of gift certificates from participating merchants after registering during a trip to the Three Star Mall. The first day of shopping she visited Ashley’s Attic, Stewart Pharmacy, National Diamond, Bath and Body Works, and Radio Shack.
Along with Christmas presents for family members that included a ring, purse and decorative Christmas cup, she treated herself to a stuffed Hello Kitty, a neck cushion, an iPad, and a cellphone.
Kasy says the cushion was for medical reasons, somewhat.
“I get tired,” she said with a smile. “I’ve always wanted one to wrap around my neck when I get tired. I wanted the iPad so I could play games on it. I can use the phone to text my friends at school who have phones. I know I can’t carry it to school. Maybe I can when I get to high school.”
The $1,000 jackpot did create an extra special Christmas at the Valadez home. Kasy’s mother lost her job in June which put a financial strain on the family to make it on her father’s income alone.
“I worked for the same place for 13 years,” said mother Jackeline. “I’ve been making and selling tamales to make extra money while I look for a job.”
Jackeline signed her daughter up for the drawing.
“My mom actually signed for me, because I didn’t know how to spell the address of our street,” said Kasy. “I thought I would win $100. I’ve never won anything before. I was shocked when I won $1,000.”
Making the actual drawing possible were local businesses to which Kasy showed a lot of gratitude.
“I would like to thank all the businesses and the Southern Standard for offering this and for helping me get Christmas presents for my family this year,” said Valadez. “It’s been great.”

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