Klamath Falls, Ore – Thirty members of the Klamath Union High School (KU) chapter of Oregon DECA joined 1,200 high school business, finance, hospitality and marketing students at the annual association career development conference held February 22-24, 2026, at Holiday Inn Columbia Riverfront in Portland, Oregon.

The following students received recognition of individual or team ability and achievement at the state level:

• Elsie Baumann, Hope Hartley, & Nakia Williams - 1st place in Community Awareness Project
• Aeris Saindon & KayLeah Buhrle - 1st place in Hospitality Services Team Decision
• Jacob Martin - 1st place in Retail Merchandising
• Elsie Baumann & Veronica Lav - 2nd place in Business Law and Ethics Team Decision
• Eleanor Rodriguez - 2nd place in Quick Serve Restaurant Management
• Aeris Saindon - 2nd place in Restaurant and Food Service Management
• Eleanor Rodriguez & Lucas Perez - 2nd place in Travel & Tourism Team Decision
• Tristan Tatekawa & Jorge Triana - Recertified Gold Level in Student Based Enterprise (SBE)

These 11 students will advance to international level competition at the DECA International Career Development Conference (ICDC) that will be held April 25-28, 2026, in Atlanta, GA.

Nine other KU competitors received top 20 Overall Placement in their events:

• Lucas Perez - Apparel & Accessories Marketing
• Audriana Morehouse & Evelyn Stanfield - Buying and Merchandising Team Decision
• Tristan Tatekawa & Jorge Triana - Entrepreneurship Team Decision
• Hope Hartley & Nakia Williams - Hospitality Services Team Decision
• Lenin Heaton & Ethan McCalister - Hospitality Services Team Decision
• Ethan McCalister - Hotel and Lodging Management
• Thomas Biggs - Hotel and Lodging Management
• Zoe Bitzer - Quick Service Restaurant Management
• Aleah South - Retail Merchandising
• Evelyn Stanfield - Sports and Entertainment Marketing
• Riley Rodgers - Sports and Entertainment Marketing
• Zoe Bitzer & Jacob Martin - Travel & Tourism Team Decision

“This year’s state competition highlighted the incredible depth of talent within KU’s business program. I am beyond proud of our students—not just for their competitive excellence, but for the integrity, preparation, and professionalism they showed at every level. They represented KU with confidence, character, and a persistent drive to succeed,” said Joel McPherson, chapter advisor.

For the 15th time since 2000, KU DECA earned the honor of the Oregon DECA Chapter of the Year. To earn Chapter of the Year, each chapter must submit a written evaluation of projects in four areas: community service, leadership development, chapter/membership development, and chapter publicity/promotion. This year some of the KU DECA highlights included raising funds and pet food donations for the Klamath Animal Shelter, attending multiple leadership development events, hosting a competition prep clinic, volunteering at a local food pantry, and promoting DECA in the local community.

Chapter Awards:
• 2026 Oregon Chapter of the Year (7th consecutive award)
• Thrive Level Membership Campaign
• Largest Professional Membership
• Largest Alumni Membership
• Third Largest Chapter Membership

As an integral part of the classroom curriculum, DECA’s industry-validated competitive events are aligned with the National Curriculum Standards in the career clusters of marketing, business management and administration, finance, and hospitality and tourism. DECA’s competitive events directly contribute to every student being college and career-ready when they graduate from high school. Judges and local business
professionals evaluated the members’ performance in the format of role-plays, case studies and prepared presentations.

For more information contact Klamath Union DECA Advisor Joel McPherson, at 541-883-4763, or mcphersonj@kfalls.k12.or.us.

By Joaquin Aguilar-Flores, KFCS

Under the bright lights of the OSAA State Swimming Championships at the Tualatin Hills Aquatic Center, the Klamath Union High School boys swim team delivered a performance for the history books.

Competing in Special District 2, Klamath Union’s five point-scoring swimmers placed third as a team with 35 points, finishing just behind Cascade Christian (37) and state champion Newport (40). It marked the first time in school history KU’s boys placed as a team at state — a milestone head coach Heather Shaffer did not take lightly.

“KU has never placed as a team at state before,” Shaffer said. “This is historic.”

Senior’s Max Hendricks and Kamron Bouma had a season which will be remembered like no other at Klamath Union.

“First off, it’s just an absolute honor to represent KU and the Klamath Basin as a whole, going to state and trying to do our best,” Bouma said. “It’s been great getting the records that we have, and I’m very thankful for the opportunity.”

Records fell throughout the weekend.

Bouma claimed second place finishes in both the 50 freestyle and 100 freestyle, setting new school records in each with lifetime-best times of 21.48 and 47.41 seconds. Bouma beat his own school record in the 50 freestyle set during the Skyline Championships, a record of 22.47 which beat Klamath Union's Marich Sikes' time of 22.69 he had back in 2013.

For Bouma, breaking a school record in each of his four events is something he won’t soon forget.

Shaffer noted Charles Warrington, who was recently inducted as the first male swimmer into the Pelican Hall of Fame, had told her he was excited about the possibility of his 100 freestyle school record being broken.

“It’s just awesome to have broken his record in the last meet of the year,” Bouma said. “I’m glad for the opportunities I’ve got and the coaching I’ve got. It’s a good feeling and I’m very thankful for the boys around me that helped get me there.”

Hendricks added a third-place finish in the 200 freestyle (1:54.64) and fourth in the 100 backstroke (1:00.00), swimming less than a second off his lifetime bests despite battling illness the week between districts and state.

“I’d had a cold all week,” Hendricks said. “You could definitely tell when you started racing that you weren’t quite there. I was expecting some drops, but it happens sometimes. It was still a good last meet.”

The relays proved especially dramatic. The 200 freestyle relay team of Hendricks, Sawyer Olsen, Finley Chase and Bouma placed second in a school-record 1:34.64, just four-hundredths of a second shy of a state title.

“It was a close race,” Bouma said. “We lost by .04 seconds. That was definitely a tough loss. It would have been nice to win that, but they swam fast enough and earned it. It was a fun race.”

Shaffer noted Hendricks opened the relay with a lifetime-best split, giving KU an early edge before Bouma nearly chased down the win at the wall.

The 400 freestyle relay team of Hendricks, Jonas Southwell, Chase and Bouma also broke a long-standing school record by nearly three seconds, finishing third in 3:30.79. Both Hendricks and Bouma swam sub-50-second splits, a breakthrough mark in high school sprinting.

“That’s a lot to break a record by,” Shaffer said. “Max and Kamron dropped so much time.”

For Chase, the relay success reflected months of technical refinement and team accountability.

“I think it was a lot due to the people on the team,” Chase said. “Swimming with Cameron and Max and getting pointers from them helped me and Jonas drop a lot of time this season.”

Shaffer added Chase made significant stroke adjustments over the summer and that all her team’s state qualifiers paid attention to the details.

“There’s a lot you can do to move more efficiently through the water,” Shaffer said. “They tracked those details down and perfected them. They were very focused.”

At the state meet, there was a selfless team decision involving Southwell and Olsen.

Shaffer explained Olsen was part of the 400 freestyle relay team that qualified for state at districts, but as a first-time state swimmer, he felt more comfortable focusing on the 50 freestyle rather than the 100 freestyle leg of the relay. 

With Southwell swimming the 100 faster late in the season and serving as the team’s alternate at state, Olsen asked if Southwell could take his spot on the 400 relay. As a result, Olsen competed on the 200 freestyle relay, while Southwell swam on the record-breaking 400 freestyle relay that placed third at state.

On the girls side, sophomore Gretchen Lindecamp qualified individually and placed 12th in the 200 freestyle while also swimming on the 10th-place 400 freestyle relay, along with teammates Hazel Squibb, Elsie Baumann and Elly Amos.

“It was really cool being able to see all the work I’d been putting in pay off,” Lindecamp said. “Going to such an important meet individually taught me a lot about not expecting the best every race, but still being proud of what I can do.”

Lindecamp emphasized the bond among teammates as a driving force.

“We all really like each other,” Lindecamp said. “We expect a lot out of each other, and that pushes us to do our best.”

Shaffer described the electric state atmosphere and camaraderie among Special District 2 swimmers.

“We never have a student section,” Shaffer said. “Nobody knows what we do. But at state, it’s electric. After the 50 freestyle, four boys from our district who medaled were standing together with their arms around each other. Our athletes are supportive of everyone swimming.”

By Joaquin Aguilar-Flores, KFCS

Students at Eagle Ridge New Tech High School celebrated National FFA Week with creativity, competition and a growing sense of pride in their chapter’s accomplishments.

Throughout the week, FFA members organized daily themes, decorated the school with informational posters and even hidden small toy sheep around campus to spark curiosity and engagement. “We have little sheep hidden all around the school that students can find just to kind of keep them involved,” Eagle Ridge FFA president Ela King said. “A lot of people don’t know about FFA, especially since it’s in the city schools. It’s very new to city schools, so we’re trying to get people interested and aware of what we do.”

National FFA Week is recognized by FFA chapters across the country, but for Eagle Ridge’s new program, the celebration carries special meaning. Now in its second year, the chapter has quickly built momentum. Last year marked its first official banquet and a handful of competitions. This year, members are aiming even higher.

“This year, we’re trying to get to almost every competition,” King said.

Students have already competed in events such as soils, food science and parliamentary procedure. Most recently, the team placed third in parliamentary procedure, a contest that tests students’ ability to properly run a meeting using formal motions and procedures. 

“We had to create a meeting, make motions and follow the proper order,” King said. “We got graded on it, and placed third.”

In soils, Eagle Ridge’s chapter earned top team honors at districts, with members placing individually from first to third.

“Every single one of us placed as individuals, and both our beginner and advanced teams placed first,” King said. 

King noted district alignments can vary year to year and emphasized the team is becoming strong competition for larger, more established programs.

Competitions often require travel, with events typically held an hour or two away, and sometimes even farther. The chapter advanced to the state level in food science, where students rotated through tasting, smelling, written tests and food safety identification challenges. 

“It’s such a wide range,” King said. “Food science was completely different than soils. In soils, we were out digging trenches and identifying dirt textures. In food science, we were inside analyzing flavors and safety concerns. It teaches real-world skills.”

King herself is preparing for an upcoming agricultural mechanics competition, where she will demonstrate welding, wiring and tractor part identification.

“I’m really trying to get first in ag mechanics. I’m confident I could,” King said.

The chapter is supported by dedicated advisors Katharine Smith, Dylan Houser, and Haley Aiken, all former FFA members, who guide students in areas ranging from environmental science to mechanical design. 

“I didn’t even know what FFA was at first,” King said. “But it’s shown me that I’m very interested in the environment and welding and agriculture. It’s taught me a lot and shown me things I didn’t know I could do.”

Sky Lakes is partnering with Klamath City and County Schools to offer high school students opportunities to begin their careers in health care before graduating.

Local artist Lisa Chancellor has begun painting a mural on the library wall at Pelican Elementary School this week, and the big reveal will take place soon as she continues bringing the artwork to life.

Klamath Union's cheer team put together a week-long cheer camp this week. The camp's attendees, which includes Klamath Falls City Schools elementary school students, will perform at halftime of the Mazama versus Klamath Union boys basketball game tonight at Pel Court.

Spring sports start Monday, March 2nd.

All student athletes must be fully registered in FinalForms to participate on day one.

Please make sure everything is complete before the first practice.

Let’s go Pels.

Klamath Falls City Schools would like your input in a ThoughtExchange asking:

As we consider the future of Modoc Field, what are your thoughts on the proposal to name the Klamath Union High School track in honor of longtime coach and teacher Ken Coffman, and what impact do you feel his legacy has had on our community?

To clarify, KFCS is seeking input on naming the track only. Modoc Field itself will not be renamed.

Please access the Exchange by clicking on the link below.

We want you!

Our school is lexpanding our exciting and growing Sports Broadcasting program, and we are looking for adult mentors with experience in the field who would like to help guide and inspire students.

If you have a background in sports broadcasting, media production, journalism, video editing, camera operation, audio production, live streaming, or related fields, we would love your support. Our students are learning how to run live game broadcasts—from play-by-play announcing and instant replay to camera work and pre-game shows—and having real-world professionals involved makes an incredible difference.

This is a chance to:

Share your expertise with motivated students

Help build a high-quality, professional-style broadcasting program

Mentor the next generation of broadcasters, storytellers, and media professionals

Be part of something exciting and impactful in our school community

Whether you can help occasionally or more regularly, your experience and guidance are needed and appreciated as we continue to grow this program.

Interested in helping?
Please contact Dan Stearns at 541-891-7511 or email stearnsd@kfalls.k12.or.us

Thank you for supporting our students and helping bring live sports broadcasting to the next level!

Cold and flu season is here ... please help us prevent the spread of viruses by doing these things at home, school, and work.

Steps you can take

Individuals can

• Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw used tissues in the trash. If you don't have a tissue, cough or sneeze into your elbow, not your hands.

• Learn and use proper handwashing technique.

• Teach children the correct way to wash their hands.

• Clean frequently touched surfaces, such as countertops, handrails, and doorknobs regularly.

Information presented comes from the Center of Disease Control. Click this link for more information.

La temporada de gripe y resfriados ya está aquí. Ayúdenos a prevenir la propagación del virus haciendo estas cosas en casa, en la escuela y en el trabajo.

Las personas pueden:

• Cubrirse la boca y la nariz con un pañuelo desechable al toser o estornudar; botar los pañuelos desechables usados a la basura; y si no tienen un pañuelo de este tipo, toser o estornudar cubriéndose con el ángulo interno del codo, no con las manos.

• Aprender y usar la técnica correcta de lavado de manos.

• Enseñarles a los niños la forma correcta de lavarse las manos.

• Limpiar con regularidad las superficies que se tocan con frecuencia, como mesones, barandas y manijas de las puertas.

La información presentada proviene del Centro para el Control y Prevención de Enfermedades. Haga clic en este enlace para obtener más información.

KFCS Board of Education

Andrea Jensen, Zone 1, Roosevelt - andrea.jensen@kfcityschools.org

Andrew Biggs, Zone 2, At-Large - andrew.biggs@kfcityschools.org

Vanessa Bennett, Zone 3, Conger - vanessa.bennett@kfcityschools.org

Kathy Hewitt, Zone 4, Mills - kathy.hewitt@kfcityschools.org

Trina Perez, Zone 5, Pelican - trina.perez@kfcityschools.org

Kelsey Bitzer, Zone 6, At-Large - Bitzerk@kfcityschools.org

Nicole Trejo, Zone 7 At-Large - Trejon@kfcityschools.org