DATE: Tuesday, March 18, 1997               TAG: 9703180041

SECTION: DAILY BREAK             PAGE: E1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY REBECCA MYERS CUTCHINS, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH                        LENGTH:  108 lines

KEEPING AN EYE ON SENIORS

JUST TWO MONTHS AGO, Charles F. Burris Sr. lost his wife of 71 years and two of his seven children. All three died within two weeks of one another.

Almost immediately, Burris' son and namesake, Charles Burris Jr., started making plans to keep his 90-year-old father occupied.

``I knew that I had to get him busy doing something,'' he said. ``He's been a workaholic all of his life, raising the seven of us.''

So the younger Burris, 53, a captain in the Portsmouth Sheriff's Office, asked his father if he wanted a job.

``Sure, but what can I do?'' his father asked.

It wasn't long before the elder Burris found out. In February, he began making daily phone calls to the 12 participants in the sheriff's ``Elderly Watchful Eye'' program for seniors who live alone.

``I enjoy it because it gives me something to do with my time,'' said Burris, who usually makes the calls each morning from the sheriff's civil process division, located in what used to be Cradock High School. On days when he can't get a ride to work with his son, Burris is prepared to make the calls from home.

``I was at home by myself, just me and the dog,'' Burris said recently from a second-floor classroom of the old school. ``There at home, I'm alone with nothing to do. It gets boring.''

Starting at about 8:30 a.m. Monday through Friday, Burris, who was sworn in as an honorary deputy sheriff, opens a red binder that contains the names of the 12 participants he is expected to call. He usually spends a few minutes on the phone with each, all of whom are women.

Burris is legally blind and has hearing aids in both ears, but that hasn't affected his ability to do his job. The list that he works from is printed in extremely large, black letters. And as long as he props the receiver up to his ``good ear,'' the left one, he can hear well enough to talk on the phone.

``When I'm talking on the phone, I cut it all the way off so it won't make noise,'' Burris said, referring to the hearing aid in his left ear. ``If I don't, it'll squeal.''

Alma Lee, 75, said she likes chatting with Burris ``because he talks like a Christian.''

``He always tells me, `God bless you and have a nice day,' '' Lee said. ``It makes me feel good.''

Burris, who has a deep voice with a hint of a Southern drawl, typically completes his calls in 20 to 30 minutes. But on a recent Friday, he spent a little more time on the phone than usual.

``I've been off for a while, and they were glad to hear from me,'' Burris said with a chuckle.

Dorothy Giocoiomo, 74, said she appreciates the extra time Burris spends with her on the phone.

``To me, it sort of starts my day off,'' Giocoiomo said. ``If they can take the time to say just a few words, it makes a difference.''

Portsmouth Sheriff Gary W. Waters started the ``Elderly Watchful Eye'' program with 10 participants seven years ago after learning about similar projects in other localities.

``When this first started, we were the first city in South Hampton Roads to start a program like this,'' said Lt. Betty Aronson, the sheriff's public affairs officer.

To be eligible for the program, participants must be senior citizens who live alone. When enrolling, the senior must give the names of two close neighbors and someone to reach in case of an emergency.

If a participant does not answer the phone after repeated tries, a neighbor is contacted to check on the participant. If no one is available, a deputy is dispatched to the home.

``We have permission to enter the dwelling,'' said Lt. Brenda Lundy, who oversees the program. Deputies have had to enter a residence only twice in the seven years since the program started, she said.

``One person fell out of his chair, and I think he broke his hip,'' said Lundy, who recalled a similar scenario in the second incident.

Burris, who is not paid for his work, says he'll make several attempts to reach someone before becoming alarmed.

If he doesn't get an answer on the first try, ``I go ahead and call some of the rest of them,'' he said. ``Sometimes they say they were in bed asleep and didn't hear the phone. . . . I'll call two and three times until I get them.''

It was about two years ago when Giocoiomo decided to check into the program.

``I have a son, but he's out of town so much,'' she said. ``And now you read more and more about people being dead for a long time before they are found.''

Nancy Wilson, 74, starting using the service three years ago.

``It feels comforting that someone is checking up on me,'' she said. ``He (Burris) talks real nice to me. He asks me how I'm doing. And he talks about the Lord.''

Burris, who lives in Deep Creek, is a member of Chesapeake First Pentecostal Holiness Church. A native of West Virginia, Burris came to Portsmouth in 1940 to work in the Norfolk Naval Shipyard. After working six years as a shipfitter, he took a job at the Naval Air Station, where he retired in 1972 as an inspector of heavy equipment.

He has 12 grandchildren, 14 great-grandchildren and one great-great grandson. His oldest great-grandson turned 31 last November.

Giocoiomo says she is extremely appreciative of the service Burris provides for the sheriff's office.

``Considering how I feel some mornings when I get up - I can barely move and everything else - he sounds wonderful,'' she said. ``I just marvel at it .

``He kind of chuckled a little bit when I told him I was 74. That's when he said he was 90, as if to say, `My goodness, lady, you've got a long ways to go.' '' MEMO: To participate in the Elderly Watchful Eye program, call Lt.

Brenda Lundy at 558-2825, Ext. 3000, or Lt. Betty Aronson at 393-8210,

Ext. 3173. Calls can be made seven days a week, including holidays. ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]

TAMARA VONINSKI

The Virginian-Pilot

Charles F. Burris Sr....

Send Suggestions or Comments to webmaster@scholar.lib.vt.edu