Edmonton Journal from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada • 12

Moms meet to keep daughters' memories alive A15 A12 EDITOR: PETER MASER, 429-5399; citythejournal.canwest.com EDMONTON JOURNAL MONDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2007 ll i li Sweet treat If-" Zi Group homes for disabled face staffing crisis Some close on weekends as boom steals workers ers from another. In most instances, the workers leave the business entirely for better-paying jobs in retail, the service mdustryandtheoilpatch, thoughsome do move to government-run facilities. Those who stay are starting to burn out in jobs that typically require evening and weekend work. The solution, many believe, lies with the provincial government. The province pays the wages for group home workers through its Persons with Developmental Disabilities program.

That program, which funded services for 9,100 people in 2005, is run by the department of Seniors and Community Supports. "The ministry certainly is aware there are concerns," said department spokeswoman Mona Etcheverry. "With the strong economy, staff shortages and recruitment and retention are unfortu-natelyareality in many sectors. In2006, the ministry did add $10 million for staff." Still, Etcheverry said, the needs willbe taken into consideration in the upcoming 2007-2008 budget discussions. But some service providers fear help won't come soon enough.

Mulder's agency, Rehoboth Christian Ministries, which operates several group homes, now closes some on certain weekends. Ruth Bisson, who operates three group homes in Leduc through Leduc Independent Living Services, finds herself grappling with a similar decision. See HOMES I AB I SARAH O'DONNELL Journal Workplace Writer EDMONTON Alberta agencies running private and non-profit group homes for people with disabilities say they are in a crisis as they struggle to stop staff from walking out the door to higher-paying jobs. It is one of the dark sides of Alberta's boom, one that is forcing some service providers to take drastic steps, such as closing homes on weekends. "We are desperately trying to survive as service providers," said Wally Mulder, chairman of the Edmonton-area Council of Service Providers.

"How do we retain the employees we have in a rather lucrative labour market where you can basically write your own ticket?" Staff turnover has become a fact of life in the province's hot economy, but Mulder says it is particularly bad in his field. The mid-range hourly wage for a full-time worker in the central region, which includes Red Deer and Lloydminster, was $13.76 in 2005. That year, the Alberta Council of Disability Services reported a 40-per-cent staff turnover rate among group homes not run by the government. People doing the same kind of work in unionized, government-operated homes typically earn three to four dollars more, according to the council. Unlike other sectors, Mulder says this is not a case of one agency taking work ii- iiimm MARC BENCE, THE JOURNAL After getting her face painted, seven-year-old Alexandra Tkachuk, second from left, watches her mom Heidi Hovis roll frozen maple syrup onto a popsicle stick during the Cabane A Sucre (sugar shack festival) at Ecole Holy Cross on Sunday.

Scott McKeen will return LIFETIMES Despite her blindness, Anne Burrows had keen vision to nurture city's music scene In nial Arts medal recipient in 2005. In 1987, she was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Alberta for her outstanding contributions to music education. Music, particularly the musical education of young people, was Anne Burrows' passion in life. In 1979, she formed a musical foundation to assist a 19-year-old piano prodigy named Angela Cheng. With the foundation, Burrows and a handful of other volunteers ran bake sales, raffles and bingos to send Cheng to the Juilliard academy in New York City.

Today, Cheng is a world-class concert pianist and professorofmusicat the prestigious Oberlin conservatory in Ohio. Cheng told The Journal in 2004 that she credits Burrows not only for financial supportbutforhelping her build confidence in her abilities and create a sense of ambition that allowed her to pursue a dream. The foundation, originally named for Cheng, was renamed in the 1980s as the Anne Burrows Music Foundation. Dianne Ball, a friend for more than 50 years, said Miss Burrows had a hand in helping launch the careers of practically every musician of international stature who came from Edmonton. Among them are Amanda Forsythe, Shauna Rolston, Jens Lindemann and JudyKang.

"She was an absolutely fascinating lady," said Ball. Over the years, the Burrows foundation has contributed more than $500,000 to music education, with many scholarships handed out through the Edmonton Kiwanis Music Festival. Cora Molstad, who was involved with the music festival, recalls Miss Burrows adjudicating at Kiwanis using a special typewriter. "The children were so enchanted with this blind person who had a typewriter they really didn't care about their marks," Molstad said. "She really was a very special kind of a woman." Miss Burrows was also involved with the Canadian National Institute for the Blind and published a book on Braille music notation.

That volume, Music Through Braille, published in 1987 through the Alberta College Music Centre, contained a forward written by Prince Charles. Throughoutherlife, Miss Burrows was an avid horsewoman and she had a fondness for animals. Anne Burrows' life took remarkable turns from an early age. Born the only child of Thomas and Dolina Burrows in Entrance, west of Edmonton on July 16, 1922, she lost her sight to glaucoma at age six. "That never held back Anne from doing anything," recalls friend and fellow music teacher Hope Metzies.

She and Miss Burrows rode horses, toured the Rocky Mountains in Jasper and played conceits together on CKUA radio. "She was a very gifted teacher," recalls Metzies. "Her ideas were not always the usual ones. She had very special ideas about fingerings that would work better. She hadatremendous love ofmu-sic." Metzies said her friend displayed uncommon courage all of her life.

At age 10, studying at the Royal College of Music in London during the bombing blitz in the early years of the Second World War, Miss Burrows led a group of people who were trapped and trying to get to the other side of the city. The lights were blacked out to avoid the German bombing and a heavy fog had rolled in, but Miss Burrows and her guide dog led the others to safety. PAUL MARCK Journal Staff Writer EDMONTON As a musician, patron of the arts, music teacher and philanthropist, Anne Burrows was the first lady of Edmonton's musical past, and shaped its present and future. Blind from the age of six, she was an exceptional person who touched the lives of many, throughher involvement in the Kiwanis Music Festival and a foundation she founded in 1979. Miss Burrows, 84, died Saturday at the Edmonton General Hospital's long-term care facility, where she had lived for the past six years.

Among her many accomplishments, she was a music critic for the Edmonton Journal from 1965-71 and had a radio show on the CBC for several years. Journal technology writer Steve Makris was a young photographer at the paper during the late 1960s. He ran into Miss Burrows again a couple of years ago at hernew home in the former General Hospital. Makris was amazed athowwell-in-formed she was, how up-to-date on the news events of the day. Though confined to a wheelchair, suffering from diabetes and unable to play her beloved piano, Miss Burrows was active as a member and co-chair of the residents' committee that met regularly with caregivers.

She seemed grateful for every day she lived and radiated a positive aura. "Even now, late in life, she would leave an indelible impression on people. She was extraordinary," Makris recalls. Miss Burrows handled herself so well, her blindness was not at first apparent to many people, Makris said. "She could see you with her ears," he said.

She was named to the Order of Canada in 1992 and was an Alberta Centen Scotia Place, Tower 2 'T Titt LARRY WONG, THE JOURNAL, FILE Anne Burrows, right, and Angela Cheng share a moment at the piano at the Edmonton General Continuing Care Centre in December 2004. Miss Burrows formed a foundation to help Cheng, now a world-class concert pianist, further her career. Suite 303, 10060 Jasper Ave, Edmonton "They couldn't see anything with the fog and blackout combined," she recalled a few years ago. "They just followed us and we told them where all the curbs were. We got them all home safely.

"That was using common sense." to credit approval. Some restrictions may apply. Call Legions of people followed Miss Burrows for the rest of her life. Miss Burrows willed her body for use in medical education at the University of Alberta. A memorial service will be held at a later date.

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