Taking Care

A GRANDPARENT who saw a need for a program to support grandparents and other caregivers of children other than their own is celebrating a landmark.The YWCA-sponsored summer Kindership Care program at Park Elementary School has developed into a full-scale, year-round program. The YWCA started the program a year ago in Annapolis and West County. A branch opened last April at the Harundale Presbyterian Church, and a new one is starting in Freetown.Frances Hullett, a former addiction counselor at North County Hospital, leads the program at Park.

A U2 concert Nancy Fleming didn't attend, a boat she doesn't own, jewelry she doesn't have.Those are some of the things Anne Arundel County prosecutors say Fleming, who is disabled, paid for.But, prosecutors say, the beneficiary was the woman who was supposed to be taking care of Fleming but who stole her savings instead.Today, Circuit Judge Clayton R. Greene is to decide if defendant Romy T. Gresham, 28, of Pasadena can withdraw the guilty plea her lawyer, Michael S. Pappafotis, says was made a year ago because prosecutors misled him.Gresham's plea to the theft charge occurred last April 28, when she acknowledged prosecutors had enough evidence to convict her but she did not admit responsibility for a crime.

BOSTON -- Every once in a while when you dig through the dusty archaeology of statistics, you come across something of value. Or at least something about our values. Consider the numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showing that a worker who helps bury people is worth about a dollar more than one who helps raise them. The median wage for a funeral attendant is $7.16 an hour; the median wage for a child care worker is $6.17 an hour.Pay disparityIf that doesn't strike home, consider that we pay someone in pest control $10.25 an hour.

DURHAM, N.C. - Eldora Mitchell is nearly as old as the century, and for her it has been a life of love and service, starting at the age of 12, when she went to work scrubbing white people's floors to help her family.Later, she cleaned hospital rooms to feed her own children and cared for her grandchildren while their parents were working. In her 60s, she nursed her dying husband and her elderly mother.Now, at 95, frail and slowly going blind, it is Mitchell's turn. Four years ago, she moved across town to her retirement home - a bedroom in her son Charles' house here, with bright green curtains and her large-print Bible on the nightstand.

Child care providers throughout Maryland have a new toll-free hot line where they can receive help taking care of children.Friends of the Family Inc., a nonprofit statewide network of 27 family support centers, has scheduled a trained child care specialist to answer questions about children's behavior, working with parents and recommending solutions to problems.The service is available from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesdays at 888-341-CARE (2273). For more information about the agency, at 1001 Eastern Ave., call 410-659-7701.

Coppin State's Terquin Mott said his decision in May to declare for the NBA draft was more a product of "financial stress" than a burning desire to play professional basketball.It also had a lot to do with guilt."My sister [Teresa] was struggling, taking care of my little brothers and taking care of my mom while she was sick. And I just felt like I wasn't doing anything but worrying about myself here. I felt kind of selfish," he said."I just didn't want to be in school anymore. I wanted to be home with my family, whether I had to work or do whatever.

BEFORE THE ERA of two-income families, the job of caring for the elderly fell mostly to relatives. Families were bigger, so siblings were available to help share the burden from time to time.Today, many households depend on outside sources for help with their elderly. In the Baltimore region, where the number of old people is growing, public services for the elderly are extremely popular. They cannot, however, be a priority for cash-strapped local governments, which are having a hard-enough time meeting demand for police and schools.

Back in 1987, when "Bull Durham" was being cast, Susan Sarandon had to pay for her own flight from Europe, where she happened to be staying, to America for an audition.In 1991, when "Lorenzo's Oil" came around, she got tapped to play the female lead only after Michelle Pfeiffer took a pass.But last year, when "The Client" was being decided, Ms. Sarandon was the first choice. She hadn't even expressed interest.Director Joel Schumacher envisioned her and no one else in the plum part of Reggie Love, a scrappy attorney with a big but bruised heart.

Boston. -- Finally, we've got a keeper. Janet Reno is headed for confirmation hearings and a new woman for attorney general, a new standard for public judgment, and maybe even new tax rules for domestic workers.But I hate to close the case of the nominees and the nannies on this minor note. We barely skimmed over the major subject.For a few weeks, people were talking about child care that's legal and illegal. But what about child care that's good and lousy? They talked about the small absurdities in our tax policy for household workers.

Mother's Day is here. It's time for the cards and flowers we say we don't care about -- although our hearts ache when our children forget to send them -- and if we're lucky, for a half-cooked, half-cold breakfast in bed that will taste better than any chef's creation because it was prepared by small hands and spiced with love.On this day, I hope that each of you allows yourself to bask in the love and attention that comes your way and that, for a change, you spend the entire day patting yourself on the back for what you do right, instead of kicking yourself for the mistakes you make.

The death of a toddler last week in Severn has been ruled a homicide, and Anne Arundel County police said charges against the man who was taking care of the youngster are pending. Police said Charles Michael Brandley, 3, reportedly fell down stairs Aug. 7 at a home in the 8200 block of Tomlinson Court and was taken to the Baltimore Washington Medical Center. But then he was flown to Johns Hopkins Hospital in critical condition, where doctors told police that the child's injuries did not match those of a tumble down the stairs.

For three quarters Saturday, Navy quarterback Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada was impressive, leading the Midshipmen to 32 points, 217 yards passing and another 72 yards rushing. But when the heat of the day became too much, Kaheaku-Enhada didn't hesitate and told his coach. "If you can't go 100 percent, take yourself out," the junior quarterback said. "I knew Jarod was there. We're always there to back each other up." Jarod Bryant, also a junior, came off the bench for the second time in two weeks to lead a Mids comeback.

Aging can be a scary process for Baby Boomers. But aging while also raising children, preparing for retirement, staying healthy and tending to an elderly loved one can be an unexpected and overwhelming nightmare. It doesn't have to be quite so frightening, though. Not according to Marion Somers, a nationally-recognized geriatric care specialist and author of recently published Elder Care Made Easier: Doctor Marion's 10 Steps to Help You Care for an Aging Loved One. From creating better communication skills to navigating complicated financial issues, Somers covers a wide range of topics that can help individuals become quasi-experts on caregiving while also including several suggestions on how to prevent such duties from taking its toll on families.

Tip--Soot removal-- To remove soot from walls, use a vacuum cleaner with a wand attachment, taking care not to touch the soot. -- University of Florida

The Who, What and Where of Elder Care By Jill R.E. Yesko and Ruth E. Thaler-Carter LifeBridge Health/Free on request The job of caring for an elderly adult is exhausting and emotionally taxing. But this book, produced as a public service project by Levindale Hebrew Geriatric Center and Hospital, which is part of LifeBridge Health, and the law firm of Hodes, Ulman, Pessin & Katz P.A., helps ease the burden. It's rare to have such good information offered for free. "The best thing that could happen is that we'd have to print another series," says Helene King, the LifeBridge marketing director.

A traveling museum exhibit spotlighting eye care will make a stop at the Maryland Science Center at the Inner Harbor from Friday through Sunday. The interactive "Eye Didn't Know That!" exhibit features explanations of how the eye works; a look through cataract goggles that replicate symptoms of the eye disease, and a description of eye-care advances, such as photochromic technology that protects the eye from UV light with changing shades of lenses in eye glasses. The exhibit, sponsored by photochromics supplier Transitions Optical Inc., is designed for visitors of all ages but especially hopes to impress on children the importance of taking care of their eyes throughout life's stages.

County police seized guns and marijuana in an early-morning raid yesterday at a Reisterstown home that is also a registered day care center. Officers entered the home in the 500 block of Glen Granite Road at 6 a.m. and found six bags of marijuana, drug paraphernalia and a handgun with a loaded magazine next to it on top of the refrigerator, police said. The residents of the house led the officers to the basement, where police found a safe containing 13 handguns and 20 shotguns and rifles, police said.

A GRANDPARENT who saw a need for a program to support grandparents and other caregivers of children other than their own is celebrating a landmark.The YWCA-sponsored summer Kindership Care program at Park Elementary School has developed into a full-scale, year-round program. The YWCA started the program a year ago in Annapolis and West County. A branch opened last April at the Harundale Presbyterian Church, and a new one is starting in Freetown.Frances Hullett, a former addiction counselor at North County Hospital, leads the program at Park.

A U2 concert Nancy Fleming didn't attend, a boat she doesn't own, jewelry she doesn't have.Those are some of the things Anne Arundel County prosecutors say Fleming, who is disabled, paid for.But, prosecutors say, the beneficiary was the woman who was supposed to be taking care of Fleming but who stole her savings instead.Today, Circuit Judge Clayton R. Greene is to decide if defendant Romy T. Gresham, 28, of Pasadena can withdraw the guilty plea her lawyer, Michael S. Pappafotis, says was made a year ago because prosecutors misled him.Gresham's plea to the theft charge occurred last April 28, when she acknowledged prosecutors had enough evidence to convict her but she did not admit responsibility for a crime.

DURHAM, N.C. - Eldora Mitchell is nearly as old as the century, and for her it has been a life of love and service, starting at the age of 12, when she went to work scrubbing white people's floors to help her family.Later, she cleaned hospital rooms to feed her own children and cared for her grandchildren while their parents were working. In her 60s, she nursed her dying husband and her elderly mother.Now, at 95, frail and slowly going blind, it is Mitchell's turn. Four years ago, she moved across town to her retirement home - a bedroom in her son Charles' house here, with bright green curtains and her large-print Bible on the nightstand.