Saratoga News


Jonathan Claymore McCollum	Eric Peter Ziegler

Dual Eagle ceremony honors SHS seniors who are friends

Two Saratoga High School seniors and longtime friends, Jonathan Claymore McCollum and Eric Peter Ziegler, received the highest honor given by the Boy Scouts of America--the Eagle Award--in a dual ceremony in December held at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Saratoga, where the boys are members.

The youngest of three children, 18-year-old McCollum has spent most of his life in Saratoga, where he attended Foothill and Argonaut elementary schools, Redwood Middle School and now SHS. A member of Boy Scout Troop 563, McCollum has been involved in scouting since he was 8 years old. His Eagle project involved dismantling an old building at Hakone Gardens and replacing it with a bamboo grove. He did almost all the work by himself.

Along the road to becoming an Eagle Scout, McCollum earned 22 merit badges as well as several special awards: Arrow of Light, On My Honor, Faith in God, Duty to God and Order of the Arrow.

McCollum enjoys history, German, military science, skiing, automobile mechanics and karate, holds a technician-class amateur radio license and is active in Children of the American Revolution. Employed by Fresh Choice restaurants, McCollum plans to attend Brigham Young University when he graduates from high school.

Ziegler, the second oldest of five children, has lived in Saratoga for the past seven years, attending Argonaut Elementary and Redwood Middle schools prior to SHS. Now 17, he joined the Cub Scouts at age 8 and is a member of Boy Scout Troop 563.

His Eagle project consisted of constructing a permanent water supply and water system to serve the community picnic area of the Scotts Creek Riparian Preservation Society in Boulder Creek. He also organized the youth attending his biology camp to assist him with digging trenches and installing a pipeline for the project.

Ziegler has earned 22 merit badges along with the special awards of Faith in God, Arrow of Light, On My Honor and Duty to God. In his free time, he enjoys snow- and water-skiing, shooting, playing the piano and reading. He also works at Fresh Choice.

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