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Mr. Pelican Tickets

Giving back: Klamath Union ASB Busy In Planning KU's Mr. Pelican

Photo: Klamath Union senior, Jose Garcia, visits Mills Elementary School Thursday, visiting his little pelican, kindergarten student, Joaquin Rojas Hernandez, part of the March 7 Mr. Pelican pageant.

By Joaquin Aguilar-Flores

If you have ever wondered what goes behind the scenes of putting together Klamath Union High school’s largest event of the year, ask Klamath Union junior Kinna Freid.

Event: Mr. Pelican will start at 7 p.m. Friday, March 7 at the Ross Ragland Theater.

Freid is Klamath Union’s Associated Student Body vice president and, along with her surrounding student leadership classmates, have been busy with the planning of the annual KU fundraiser at the Ross Ragland Theater, Mr. Pelican.

Klamath Union ASB president, Andi Harmon, has also had her hands tied with the planning of the upcoming event, which will showcase some of Klamath Union’s most talented male students, which will include: John Potter, Jose Garcia, Bryce Petersen, Logan Norton, Ulises Ortega-Delgadillo, Wyatt Jensen, Connor Jackson and Damien Hunt-Plummer.

The planning for Mr. Pelican could have been agreed had started last year with the thought of what this year’s theme would be. Freid and her classmates recalled having the theme of the Olympics be decided a year ago, though the group of students began steps of planning for this year’s event this past October.

The stress of planning such a large event has come with experience from Freid, who has been a part of KU student leadership since her freshman year, planning smaller events with KU ASB, including the last two years of Mr. Pelican.

Freid’s freshman year was spent making the event’s pamphlet when she was a beginner in KU’s Digital Media program. A year ago, she was a coordinator for the event’s male contestants and helped in dance practices.

The pressure, however, is ongoing in planning an event the magnitude of Mr. Pelican. Last year’s event was spearheaded by current KU senior, Marley Ogao.

“Our advisor (Rhiannon Kerr) does a really good job of staying organized and I think I picked up a lot from that, knowing how to communicate with adults in the community, be respectful and know how to send emails correctly and have it sound professional,” Freid said.

Retired Klamath Union instructor and former KU DECA advisor, Nat Ellis, has also been vital in the planning for this year’s Mr. Pelican, coming up with fundraising packages for businesses in Klamath Falls to purchase. Klamath Union junior Talan Chancellor has been in charge of fundraising for the event, helping underclassmen with ways they can go from business to business to fundraise for Mr. Pelican.

Last year’s event had funds go toward Klamath Hospice and Palliative Care. This year’s funds will go back to a custom Mr. Pelican has done in the past, which is to have event funds be given to a Klamath Falls City Schools student in need.

Back to the playground

This past Thursday and Friday, Mr. Pelican contestants returned to their former elementary school buildings and playgrounds to spend lunch and recess with their selected little Pelicans.

Harmon and ASB member, Leah Segura, accompanied Garcia to his childhood school, Mills Elementary School.

Garcia, the only Mr. Pelican contestant to have attended Mills, had lunch and then took time to run around the playground with his selected student, kindergartener, Joaquin Rojas Hernandez. Harmon was on site to document on video the experience between Garcia and Rojas Hernandez.

Garcia and the rest of his Mr. Pelican contestants handed out goodie bags, with the hope of having their selected student be familiar with them before being on stage at the Ross Ragland Theater and participating in a question and answer segment.

“All of our contestants are going to be in their Olympic track suits. When they're giving their words, they are gonna be standing on a track, Olympic podium. All of the guys are unique in their own way,” Freid said. “We don’t want this event to flop. I think it's definitely pretty stressful for most of us that are heavily involved just because it's such a big event and we really want to be able to give back to our community … that is what we want to have known most.”

“We rely heavily on our community, so this event is kind of our way to say thanks and give back to our community, our supporting businesses, the city schools. It's something that we really hope people show up to so we can display how much it means to us as the KU community.”

How to purchase Mr. Pelican tickets

Mr. Pelican is around the corner! Do not miss your opportunity to see live and in person one of the most exciting Klamath Union events of the year.

You can purchase tickets from the following link: https://app.arts-people.com/index.php?actions=4&p=1

Contestants for Klamath Union's Mr. Pelican and members of Klamath Union ASB have been hard at work preparing for the upcoming event starting at 7 p.m. Friday, March 7 at Ross Ragland Theater.

Follow the images below to see which of the seven contestants you want to vote for and to receive information about each contestant.

KU DECA On Top Once More At State Competition

KU DECA Shines at State Competition!

KU is proud to announce that we have won our 6th consecutive “Oregon DECA Chapter of the Year” award! We were also recognized for having the 3rd largest chapter membership, largest alumni membership, and largest professional membership for 2025!

Top Performers & ICDC Qualifiers:

Eleanor Rodriguez - 1st place in Quick Serve Restaurant Management (QSRM) & 2nd place in Apparel & Accessories (AAM)

Aeris Saindon - 1st place in Restaurant & Food Service Management (RFSM)

Jacob Martin - 2nd place in Retail Marketing (RMS)

These outstanding students are heading to the International DECA Competition (ICDC) in Orlando, FL from April 25-29, 2025!

Top 10 Recognitions:

Thomas Biggs – Top 10 in Business Services Management (BSM) & Hotel & Lodging Management (HLM)

Jacob Martin – Top 10 in Hotel & Lodging Management (HLM)

Hope Hartley – Top 10 in Marketing Communications (MCS)

Paetyn Eckert – Top 10 in Quick Serve Restaurant Management (QSRM) & Restaurant & Food Service Management (RFSM)

Zoe Bitzer – Top 10 in Sports & Entertainment Marketing (SEM)

Hope Hartley & Nakia Williams – Top 10 in Hospitality Services Team Decision (HTDM)

Cluster Exam Recognition:

Eleanor Rodriguez – 2nd place in Hospitality & Tourism Cluster Exam

Jacob Martin & Thomas Biggs – Top 10 Overall

Congratulations to all our KU DECA members for their incredible achievements! Let’s keep up the amazing work as we head toward ICDC!

KU wrestlers Levi Hicks, Chris Stromberg and Kevin Willyard to compete in state tournament

Klamath Union students and staff congratulated members of the KU wrestling team in a state clap out this morning as three wrestlers will be traveling to compete in the OSAA 2025 Wrestling State Championships Feb. 27 through March 1 at Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Portland.

Pels’ wrestling head coach Chase Hewitt drove his three wrestlers, Levi Hicks, Chris Stromberg and Kevin Willyard, to the state tournament this afternoon.

Hicks, a three-time Special District 3 champion, will be competing in the 144-pound weight class. Stromberg will wrestle at 132 and Willyard in the 138-pound weight class.

Ponderosa Game Night Put Together By Bobcat Cheerleaders

Ponderosa Middle School put together a game night for students and staff Thursday. Countless games were played, which included a raffle with a dinner option from Sidelines Pizzeria.

The event was put together by Ponderosa instructor Jennifer Singer and the many members of Ponderosa cheerleading.

This year is the first time in the school’s history Ponderosa has cheerleaders at the middle school.

Roosevelt Literacy Night

Show Us Your Spirit, KU!

KU family, we’re on a mission to win the OSAA #1 Student Section Video Contest, and we need YOU to make it happen!

We're calling on all students, parents, and fans to send in your smartphone videos that capture the heart and soul of KU school spirit. Whether it's epic crowd moments, acts of incredible sportsmanship, or anything else that screams KU pride, we want to see it!

We need videos from:
KU Swim Team, Pep Band, Wrestling Team, Boys, Cheer Squad, Boys and Girls Basketball, Hockey Team

If you’ve got a clip from this season, send it our way! Just email your videos to Dan Stearns at stearnsd@kfalls.k12.or.us by March 1st.

But wait, there’s more! If our video is selected by OSAA, the winner is decided by public video views. That means we’ll need your help again to share the video far and wide to rack up those views!

First place wins a banner for our gym – let’s bring it home, KU! Anyone that submits a video clip that ends up in our final video submission, will receive a prize.

So, get those phones out, find those clips, and let’s show the world what KU spirit is all about!

Available in hard copy or digital version—read it your way!

Check it out here: https://www.pelspress.com/copy-of-newest-release

KFCS High School Options Information

Community Awareness Information Concerning the Ponderosa Middle School Building

As we look towards the future of our community, I want to bring to your attention a critical need that we must address to ensure the success and readiness of our students: the replacement of Ponderosa Middle School.

Klamath Falls is on the cusp of growth, and we need to be prepared to meet the educational demands of our expanding population. Last year, during our community conversations, we received a clear message: our community wants our youth to be life and career-ready. Specifically, there is a strong desire for more hands-on, applied learning opportunities, such as Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs.

Effective career-ready programs must begin with robust middle school initiatives. During the Board’s visit to California last year, we saw firsthand the exceptional programs at Mad Tech Middle, which serve as an inspiring model for what we can achieve here. These programs are essential for setting our students on a successful path through high school and beyond.

Our district is diligently working to build these programs at the high school level and forge strong connections to postgraduate destinations like the Oregon Institute of Technology (OIT) and Klamath Community College (KCC). However, to truly accelerate our students along this track, we need a middle school that supports and enhances these efforts. Unfortunately, the current Ponderosa Middle School is outdated and does not meet the needs of our evolving educational goals.

The urgency of this need cannot be overstated. While the current middle school building is safe, our engineers have indicated that it could become unusable at any time because it is located on an active fault line. Our trusted advisors and the Long-Range Facilities Planning Committee have unanimously agreed that the time to act is now.

We estimate the budget for replacing Ponderosa Middle School to be around $120 million. This number may fluctuate slightly up or down as we consider incorporating other essential items, such as security upgrades and early learning facility support, into the overall bond. We may also determine that we can build at a lower cost depending on what year we decide to call a bond election to support the possible project in the future.

Replacing Ponderosa Middle School is not just about updating a building; it is about investing in the future of our community and ensuring that our youth have the tools and opportunities they need to succeed in life and their careers.

We appreciate your continued support and engagement as we take these crucial steps forward. Together, we can create an educational environment that prepares our students for the challenges and opportunities of tomorrow.

Over the next year, we will engage more with our stakeholders about Ponderosa. We will also schedule tours of the building for the community to see the current facility.

We do want to be very clear that we have not set any date for a potential Bond election. We just want to make sure our community is aware that we are working on a solution to replace Ponderosa on a different site that does not have an active fault line on it.

For anyone who has any questions about his message please e-mail Keith A. Brown at brownk@kfalls.k12.or.us.