Student-built shop trailer helps feed inmates after county jail kitchen fire

Rusty Rae/News-Register##Willamina welding students finished building a 53-foot trailer, complete with kitchen, in the summer of 2022. When a fire damaged the kitchen at the Yamhill County Jail, the truck was used to feed inmates. Seniors Evan Lockwood and Edwin Nuñez, above, are two of the students who worked on the project. They enjoy working with their hands and were among the first students at Willamina High School to take a night course at Linn-Benton Community College for the Machine Technology program.

Rusty Rae/News-Register##

Years after it started as a pair of axles and a load of steel, the Willamina High School shop class’s 53-foot trailer saved the day at the Yamhill County Jail.

The Bulldogs long had the idea of creating a mobile trailer, with plans mapped out and placed on the shop wall. The project eventually materialized, utilizing an old fire truck to tow the portable kitchen, and was completed summer of 2022.

With a 150-gallon diesel tank, the shop teacher TJ Wilson and students have shown the trailer at a variety of car shows.

Seniors Evan Lockwood, Edwin Nuñez and junior Jospeh Godwin are a few of the many students who built the semi-sized trailer.

“We do pork tacos in this thing and smash burgers,” Lockwood told the News-Register, patting the white side paneling fondly.

The trailer includes a lift gate, commercial style kitchen and serving door.

On Jan. 8, there was a fire in the Yamhill County Jail kitchen after oily rags ignited. No one was injured.

The “fire was 100% accidental from routine kitchen operations,” Deputy Fire Marshall Steve Candela with McMinnville Fire District told the News-Register. “No inmate was involved, and the suppression fire sprinkler system suppressed the fire.”

Staff members saw the flames and attempted to extinguish the fire, Candela said. The sprinkler system activated and prevented the blaze from spreading.

“When the sprinklers activate, it’s like having a fire hose on,” he said. “The small fire was mostly extinguished by the time Mac Fire showed up; we just had to mop up.”

Yamhill County Sheriff Sam Elliott remembered seeing the Willamina School District mobile trailer during a tour of the school’s facilities to learn about the Career and Technical Education Programs.

“With one phone call, we found a solution that kept us moving forward seamlessly,” Elliott told the News-Register.

“The use of the mobile kitchen from Willamina High School was invaluable in continuity of food service for the jail while repairs were being done,” he said. “I cannot express enough appreciation for Superintendent Mike Gass, TJ Wilson and the students who delivered the trailer to the jail and allowed us to use the trailer for as long as necessary until the regular kitchen was back in service.”

[See also: Putting in overtime: Willamina students take night college trade courses]

The sheriff commended the students’ craftsmanship.

“The trailer is well thought out and allowed clean and efficient food preparation on jail property,” he said. “It is a great example of how collaboration between community partners allows for placing the needs of the folks we serve above all else. The jail served 151,137 meals in calendar year 2025. We serve anywhere from 12,000-15,000 meals a month, so the need to find a solution to maintaining regular meal service was extremely high.”

Once the trailer was delivered, YCSO reviewed the kitchen equipment with their contracted kitchen staff from Summit Correctional Services and had it inspected by the Yamhill County Health Department.

“Once we were approved to begin using the trailer, we conducted all primary food preparation in the mobile kitchen for about two months while repairs were done to the jail kitchen,” he said. “We sincerely appreciate the support from Willamina School District.”