Ledger-Dispatch

- By Monte Del Rio, Ledger Dispatch intern=20

Steve Routt, far left, was Eagle = Advisor to=20 Patrick Lindecker, Dominic Grillo and Christian Mullan. He worked = with=20 each one to identify, plan and build his Eagle project. He recited = the=20 Eagle Charge and Promise to them.

Photo by: Courtesy to the Ledger=20 Dispatch

Patrick Lindecker built these bleachers = at=20 Pioneer Park as part of his Eagle Scout project.

Photo by: Courtesy to the Ledger=20 Dispatch

Christian Mullan and his father, Larry, = were=20 putting in the finishing touches for the garden on = Saturday.

Photo by: Courtesy to the Ledger=20 Dispatch
From time to time, young = citizens will=20 stand up and demonstrate exceptional pride in their community. That is = why it is=20 important that those individuals are both recognized and rewarded for = their=20 outstanding efforts.

Last Sunday at the Volcano Theatre Company=20 Amphitheatre on Main Street on Volcano, three young men were recognized = for such=20 actions. With about 160 witnesses, these three of Amador county's finest = young=20 men were awarded the elite honor of becoming Eagle Scouts. This is no = doubt a=20 very high honor; according to scouting.org, only about five percent of = Boy=20 Scouts make it to the rank of Eagle Scout.

As Yvonne Lindecker, = who is=20 the Community Chair as well as the Troop Advancement Leader for Boy = Scout Troop=20 888 in Pioneer put it, "to have all three of these boys, who started at = Pine=20 Grove School together, make it all the way to Eagle Scout is highly = unusual, and=20 pretty amazing."

Amador County Sheriff Martin Ryan was in = attendance for=20 the ceremony, as was Amador County Veterans services officer Floyd = Martin, who=20 presented the boys with American Patriotism Medals from the American = Legion.=20

Christian Mullan was recognized for building a memorial garden = at Pine=20 Grove Elementary School. Dominic Grillo was honored for his landscaping = project,=20 also at Pine Grove Elementary. Patrick Lindecker received recognition = for his=20 work on replacing the bleachers at Pioneer Park.

The trio all = began=20 their scouting careers as Tiger Cub Scouts together at Pine Grove = Elementary. By=20 the sixth grade, all three were Boy Scouts. The three also collaborated = and=20 helped each other with their Eagle Scout projects. The three young men = are now=20 juniors at Amador High School and are highly involved in = sports.

Mullan=20 began work on the memorial garden at Pine Grove Elementary more than six = months=20 ago. After the dual role parking lot/driveway of the school was recently = repaved, the front of the school was in need of some sprucing up. = Mullan,=20 recognizing a need for students to have a school that they could really = take=20 pride in, decided that a memorial garden would be a fitting upgrade. = With some=20 help from the Ridge Road Garden Center, Mullan designed the overall = layout of a=20 memorial garden.

Mullan needed money to pay for the project. = "There was=20 a sort of money basket passed around school to help. It was pretty = successful,"=20 he said. This garden, complete with drought resistant plants, shredded = bark,=20 indigenous plants, and a large gravel drainage ditch, would also serve = as a=20 memorial for Audra Fuller, a family friend and teacher who had passed = away. As=20 of Saturday, Mullan and his father, Larry, were putting in the finishing = touches=20 for the garden.

Grillo recognized the need for the school to = receive an=20 updated look. "The front of the school really just looked bad," Grillo = said. "I=20 wanted to make it look really nice."

Grillo laid forth a plan to = build=20 landscaping that would frame a large wood carving of a bear - the Pine = Grove=20 Elementary mascot. After leveling the area in front of the school, = Grillo=20 trenched out a drainage ditch in order to protect the parking lot and = the front=20 of the school, as well as his work and Mullan's. He also provided the = proper=20 water drainage needed. After some design help from Kathleen Lynch, = Grillo then=20 planted numerous plants that had been donated from members of the = community. The=20 local flora complements the plants from around the area, and adds charm = to the=20 front of the school.

Lindecker found that the bleachers at the = baseball=20 field at Pioneer Park were in dire need of replacement. After = collaborating with=20 the Amador County Recreation Agency, Lindecker tore down the old three = tier,=20 15-foot cinder block bleachers, in preparation for something much more=20 appropriate.

After careful planning, Lindecker set forth to = replace the=20 old bleachers with more fitting aluminum equivalents. With some help = from his=20 Scout pack, ACRA and a generous donation of needed gravel from KC & = Sons,=20 Lindecker began the labor-intensive process of prepping the area for the = new=20 bleachers.

"The community really helped out with their = donations,"=20 Lindecker said. "It made things so much easier." After approximately = four months=20 and some 360-plus hours of work, the final product was ready to be=20 enjoyed.