The Dodge Ram will allow students to take skills off site

Jan. 10, 2025 / has a new Dodge Ram 1500 wrapped in an Antler design thanks to an anonymous private donation and grant funds. The new truck will be used to transport needed materials and supplies for the school’s career and technical education programs as well as students to competitions and events.

The truck also will be used to pull a trailer, allowing construction students to take their skills off site.

“We want our students to get that real experience of going to a job and building a project on site,” said Bonanza Principal Jordan Osborn. “That’s where we’re headed.”

Ducky Design and Sign and Adrian’s Garage designed and installed the logo that wraps around the truck. Students from Bonanza’s marketing class were invited to visit Klamath Falls businesses to watch how the process works.

Bonanza senior Kayden Krauthein has watched the shop and construction programs improve over his four years in school. The new truck is just one example of ongoing upgrades at the school that benefit student programs. “It’s very different,” Krauthein said. “We went from having very little to having everything we could need. I’m learning a bunch of new stuff.”

Over the past year, the school received two grants that were used to purchase industry-grade tools and equipment for its construction and manufacturing programs and to remodel the shop.

Osborn is pleased with the new industry connections teacher Nick Sparks is cultivating and the ability of the programs such as construction, manufacturing, and marketing to work together. The marketing class, for example, is going to “wrap” the trailer in its design under the supervision of industry professionals at Ducky Design and Sign and Adrian’s Garage. “We are providing excellence opportunities, facilities, and equipment,” Osborn said. “If you give kids excellence, you can expect excellence in return.”