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Two indicted for unrelated high-speed chases
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One man fled the law for over an hour before crashing through the gates of a nursery, while another took the time to drop off his dog with a friend while evading officers.
While separate incidents, both men have two things in common: Neither had a license and both were indicted Friday by the Warren County grand jury.
The first fugitive hails from Smithville and faces a laundry list of charges. The fugitive, Travis Ray Stoner, 22, was indicted on charges of evading arrest causing risk of death or injury, reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon, running a red light, driving on a revoked license, speeding and driving without proof of insurance. He will be arraigned Wednesday before Circuit Court Judge Bart Stanley.
His charges come after Trooper Tommy Myers clocked him speeding on Highway 55. The trooper says Stoner accelerated his 1996 Monte Carlo when he fell in behind him and turned on his blue lights. What followed was a prolonged chase that would travel through Warren County and see Stoner make some dangerous maneuvers behind the wheel.
“He was passing vehicles on double yellow lines and heading into oncoming traffic causing vehicles to run off the road,” Trooper Myers said in his warrants against Stoner. The chase continued off road when Stoner slammed through metal gates at Simpson Nursery. Once on the property, he reportedly almost collided with a nursery worker on a tractor and caused several nursery workers to have to dive for cover to avoid being hit by his vehicle. Stoner was reportedly fleeing because he was driving on a revoked license.
The second fugitive, Gary Lee Lankford Jr., 40, was indicted on charges of evading arrest with risk of death or injury, possession of a prohibited weapon, and driving on a suspended license.
His charges come after Lankford fled from sheriff’s investigator Steven Carpenter who was trying to stop him on Bluff Springs Road. The chase soon entered Francis Ferry Road, which runs parallel to Bluff Springs in the northern portion of the county.
“The driver passed several vehicles in no passing lanes on Francis Ferry putting others at risk,” Carpenter said in his warrant against the driver.
The officer lost sight of the Nissan Maxima around Locke Bend Road, but then found the vehicle abandoned off C. Rowland Road.
Paperwork in the vehicle showed the car was registered to Lankford. Further linking him to the car was a witness who said Lankford took time to drop off his dog at a nearby apartment before running into the woods.
Lankford was driving on a suspended license, taken from him for failing to satisfy citations. Lawmen also found a pair of brass knuckles on the passenger seat.

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