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Rl EE aan d « ] i a 2 -- PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, December 6, 1988 (From page 1) Mrs. Maw said she feel home- makers should be paid $8 to $9 per hour, and they should be paid travelling time between visits, just as RN's, therapists and social workers are paid when they visit people in their homes. There are 170 Red Cross Homemakers working in Durham Region at the present, and in some areas there is a waiting list for the services. Most of the people who rely on the homemaker services are elderly; but also the disabled those with chronic illnesses. Homemakers assist these peo- ple in their homes with such things as preparing meals, clean- ing, bathing, dressing, and shop- ping. Without the homemaker ser- vice, many of the people would be forced into very expensive institu- tional care. Keeping people in their homes (rather than in nursing homes or hospitals) saves the pro- vincial government a lot of mon- ey, said Mrs. Maw, yet the gov- ernment won't pay enough to pay the homemakers a better wage. She noted that a committee recommended to the government well over a year ago that the wage be raised to $8 per hour (after training) for homemakers, but the government has done nothing. Mrs. Maw said the service is losing homemakers who can earn more working in nursing homes as Aides, or to any number of oth- oe jobs that pay more than $6 per our. The Red Cross Homemaker Service in Durham is already fac- ing an $80,000 budget deficit this year, and that will only get worse the next fiscal years which starts in April, 1989. Mrs. Maw said the service can't keep running up deficits and the budget she will be submitting for next year "will reflect the true cost of operating this service." The Red Cross Homemaker Service is part of the Durham Re- gion department of Health and So- cial services, which has the pow- er to approve the budget. But the funding for the service comes through the provincial govern- ment health and social services de- partment. Mrs. Maw said it is not Dur- ham Region's fault for the under- Some of Scugog's finest choral groups will present an enjoyable afternoon of music in front of the Port Perry Post Office on Queen Street, beginning at 2 PM on Saturday, December 10th | [PORT PERRY} funding as the Region receives the money from the provincial gov- emment. Mrs. Maw admitted that the Homemaker Service does not en- joy a high public profile. That's one reason why she is talking freely about the financial restrictions. But she also wants the public to know of the kind of problems the budget squeeze is causing: the loss of dedicated homemakers and the inability to attract new ones. And she repeated that when cutbacks in levels of service must be made, the first areas to suffer will be in the rural parts of Dur- ham. The under-funding crisis is not unique to Durham Region, said Mrs. Maw. It is the same' for the v Crises for Red Cross Homemaker service nearly 5,000 Red Cross Home- makers working in all areas of Ontario. She said that while she hopes the government will come up with more money, she's not opti- mistic, if last year's budget request is any indication. The service received slightly more than half what it submitted, and that wasn't enough. Council begins office (From page 1) bers, Hall said this mix of experi- ence and new enthusiaism is a "positive thing" for the munici- pality, one that "I'm sure will be able to look after the needs of the Township, just as those needs have been looked after for the past 15 years." Hall, wearing the traditional black robes of office, kept his re- marks brief, but he ended with a humourous quip about the need to "get the mayor's chair raised so I can sce over the top of the table." He had words of praise for the work by out-going Mayor Taylor and Regional councillor Lawrence Malcolm, to-gether they have half a century of municipal service to this community. "If Scugog ever gets a Senate, Lawrence Malcolm would be the first member," said Hall, in a ref- erence to the fact that Malcolm was sometimes referred to good naturedly as "the Senator" because of his knowledge of local politics and the municipal system. Hall said that one of the promises he has made, starting in the New Year, will be to set aside specific hours each week where residents can meet him at the Township office on municipal matters. This was actually the second time the new council has been to- gether as a group, the first was an informal meeting last week. And if there are any differences of opinion, they certainly did not surface at the inaugural meeting. All pledged to work on behalf of the residents of the Township, and most made references to the fact that the new council is a blend of experience and new en- thusiasm. "There are a lot of new ideas just waiting to be implemented," said ward 4 councillor Glenn Mal- colm. Ward 2 councillor Marilyn Pearce touched on the issue that will probably be the most promi- nent over the next three years in Scugog: quality of life. "We are going to be under tre- mendous pressure for growth. We can't stop the growth, but we have to find ways to respect our past as well," she stated. Out-going Mayor Taylor, in his last official duties after a lengthy career in local affairs (ten years as Mayor) had a few good- natured words of advice for the new council. "Try to listen to all sides of the arguments and listen to the ad- vice of the (staff) experts. Take the time to do your homework," he said. 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