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Z-peat: Lisa Z reelected
Zavogiannis returns for 2nd term
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Joining the victory celebration Thursday night at the district attorney's office are, from left, Junior Medley, Penny Medley, Pano, Lisa, Christos and Jimmy Zavogiannis, and Faye Braxton.

Lisa Zavogiannis became the first district attorney to win a second term of office in the history of the 31st Judicial District, edging independent candidate Tim Pirtle, who carried Warren County but lost the election thanks to the incumbent’s strong showing in Van Buren County.
Pirtle carried Warren County by a scant seven votes, besting Zavogiannis by a count of 4,074 to 4,067. However, it was not close in Van Buren County, which makes up the 31st Judicial District along with Warren County. Zavogiannis carried Van Buren by a vote of 1,091 to 759.
The win comes after a heavily spent and hotly contested campaign. Zavogiannis, who began her campaign for reelection last year, was not joined in the race until the final week of qualifying this past spring when Pirtle declared his candidacy.
The race saw a heated exchange between Pirtle and Zavogiannis during a candidate forum during which Pirtle questioned the incumbent’s record and claimed she had not been tough on crime. Zavogiannis volleyed that he had manipulated the numbers and that she stood by her record.
Van Buren County became a battleground county after Pirtle promised to put an office in Spencer if he were elected. The campaign promise was not enough to lift Pirtle in a county Zavogiannis won handily eight years ago.
"This feels good because I know what we've been doing is the right thing," said Zavogiannis after hearing the election results. "It was a tough race and my opponent worked hard. Two of my top priorities remain fighting drugs and child abuse prevention."

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