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Show The Salt Lake - & Tnbune UTAH/THE WEST sunday, September| & 2008 post-war Kosovo focused on males. But the girls-only idea didn’t last long. | couldn’t take a step into the camp without 30 boys saying Liza, Liza, musica, musica,’ ” Foundation teaches music to Kosovar kids Shropshire recalled. She re- @ Continuedfrom B! ene Camp their own classes as lented and gave the boys of Slov- away from the pain and the vio lence of their everyday lives “ft works because people need just The foumdation: 1) public service began early for Shropshire (she calls her moth per son she knows”), but her epipn any came duringa trip to North ern freland in 196. Wandering througha Protestant section of Grass Roots: four years ago, music seemed selfish “| don’t want to say she’s a save the world person that beginning to see that music, and her love of it wasn t s¢ selfish after all The Spark: Shropshire’s con sounds kind of bad,” said Shrop shire’s younger brother Ed, 40, who lives in Provo. “But she’s always just been one that has wantedto help others and be more concerned about taking nection with Kosovo began in L.A. in 1999. She was driving to a pianostudent’s home when she heard the life-altering radio program The Hollywoodlifestyle even tually took its toll on Shrop- some place and help. I used to think | would endupin India helping Mother Teresa what you could do best. Take a music eam to these kids Shropshire said WwW ith money raised by a -hurch group and various dona tions from instrument manufac turers she ended up with nearly $5,000 in harmonicas, penny whistles and assorted other in .,” said struments and supplies “‘{ thought | was going for four weeks and that wasit. Then I'd go back to my regular life,” The Balkans: Kosovo was the site of a brutal war in which the shire. Sheleft to work with in Shropshire, 41, during a recent majority ethnic Albanians were ner city youth in Los Angeles, a trip to Utahto visit her brother four-year stint she found “so “When I heard this report, I al ready had this plane ticket tak devastated by Slobodan Milosevic-led Serbs. By the time emotionally draining, I don't think I wrote any music.” She movedon to teaching music pri vately andat three Catholic ele mentary schools But the inner-city job was an other key step on Shropshire’s path to Kosovo. Again, it was a child who provided inspiration The boy was 12 and had been bounced through foster care Angry and emotional, there were times none of the other teachers could control him “The onlything that would Shropshire arrived, displaced ng me to Europe and so | ought instead of just going on this vacation for me, I'll go help else instead.” She sought out volunteer op tions and came across a group wmeone called the Balkan Sunflowers After discussing the idea with a friend, her original plan to help the women carry water and play with the children” Kosovars were returning home ment that was small enough that these kids could have. They could put it in their pocket and from them. It would be theirs,” Shropshiresaid. Withindays her classrooms wereoverflowing. “All of the students would tell their cousins and their friends,” said Rreza Vejsa, a Gjakovenative who has volunteered with Shropshire’s founlation Vejsa, now 20 and a sophomore at Southern Virginia Uni versity, says her two sisters, 16year-old Erza, now a volunteer and 13-year-old Zana, attended dollars and loads of instru ing kids music,” said Vejsa, who, withthe helpof the foun- ments, but traveling with eight bagsonthree different airlines reached Gjakove, a town of 60,000 that has become headquarters for the foundation’s ef. | was talking to my best friend about this and she said teaching the kids to play such songs as “She’ll Be Comin Round the Mountain.” “| wanted to have an instru from refugee camps in Albania Montenegro and Macedonia Shropshireleft the United States with several thousand left her with $200 by the time she gave way to music forts in Kosovo Shropshire passed out har Shropshire’s musicclasses in Gjakove “It’s seems likeit’s just teach dation came to America to study last year. “When you look deeperintoit, you see thatit raises their self-esteem so high I saw big changes in the kids day by day.” Vejsa, whoestimates closeto It’s not going out on a limbtosaythese Winner takes $750: not as simple as it sounds Minardi beat out 10 other competitors in Saturday’s gruel ing, six-hour event, held in the elms and sycamores of the Ave Competitors work as tree trimmers for private companies or As a boy in Wisconsin, Mike Minardi spent hours scrambling up and downtwo large ash trees in his parents’ back yard. Those efforts must have paid off be cause the wiry, bearded Salt Lake City man is Utah's tree climbing champion foot rope hanging from a tree branch; rescuing a 150-pound dummy, representing an injured annual event combines elements with and tree some Tarzan like rope-swinging mixed in Like almost all sports, it’s also we'll be back bidding edge of tree biology. They can tell “It's like the Olympics for us,” said Mike Marett, president you in a glance the difference be tween a sycamore and a maple They know whena tree is dying, parks departments. The yearly competition lets therm test their sounds like a childhood fantasy Monday, against eachother for jobs Tree climbers are a unique ent tasks in one large tree 28-year-old to travel in August to pr something you would see at 4 in the morning on ESPN2. The RemneniS breed. Lean and fit, they combine physical strength and technical skills with impressive know! worker, from a tree, and a com of the Utah chapter of the take a deep breath International Knoxville, Tenn., where he will represent Utah in the Interna tional Tree Climbing Championship Tree climbing, a sport? It Wife of competitive tree climbe plex climb that required com petitors to complete five differ “I never expected this to hap pen,” said a grinning Minardi, clutching his $750 check for win ning the 2003 Utah Tree Climbing Championship on Saturday at Lindsey Gardens in Salt Lake City. The moneywill pay for the climbing ASHLEY MURRAY throw-line at a target high in a tree, scaling a tree, limbby limb, to ring a bell; shinning up a 40 The Salt Lake Tribune rock What does he do at these things?” ers competed in five separate categories: Heaving a weighted By BRANDON GRIGGS trimming, Everybody's like, T dont get it. nues neighborhood park. Climb- parks departments of “He's alittle monkey. It’s so hardto explain. Society of Arboriculture. The climbers, all of them men, work fulltime as arborists ("tree trimmers” to most of us) for pri vate companies or municipal skills, honed daily on the job, against other arborists from around the state We're a very competitive business,” said Craig Christens en, a foreman at Salt Lake City ind why. They love working outdoors, high off the ground where the leaves meet the sky Climbers use modified rock climbing equipment harness es, ropes, carabiners to scale 6(-foot-high trees in seconds Safety is a huge priority; climb ers wear hard hats and never scale a tree without safety lines to keep them from falling. Even so, accidents happen. One vet eran arborist, Dave Beutler, fell based Trees Inc. Other climbers 22 feet years ago and broke his neck represented such Utah compa nies as Arborcare, Total Tree Care and Diamond Tree Experts I'm getting too old for this,” said Beutler, who at 48 was Sat urday’s oldest competitor. “But I One day a year, we're all here for fun and to show off. But on 300 years.” Watching theclimbers werea few dozen wives, girlfriends and children, who shivered in the cool morning breeze and shouted encouragement. One of these was Ashley Murray, looking on as her husband, Wes, shinned up i 40-foot rope in a state-record “He’s a little monkey,” said Murray, who, like all tree climbing groupies, must constantly interpret her husband’s unusual sport for people. “It’s so hard to explain,” she sighed. “Everybody’s like, ‘I don’t getit. ITraditional Service just love tree work. We're plant Packages ing trees nowthat will be here in $2500Includes Casket 363-7065 Aryan Nation founderto run for mayorin Idaho COEUR D'ALENE, Aryan Nations Idaho founder Richard Butler and two followers have turned in their petitions to run for office in Hayden Butler is vying for mayor, while Zach Beck and Christ Christian Butler, 85, has battled heart problems andlegal woes. Butler and his grouplost their private Hay Karl Gharst are running for council seats. All three den compound after filing bankruptcyon the heels of a $6.3 million jury award in September The funny thing is | think we're going to win,” have the same vision for Hayden “| am running to tell our people that they have cial message from the Father and Creator the right as the white race for self-determination to follow God's laws,” said Butler, founder of the Aryan Nations ind pastor of the CHurch of Jesus Incumbent Mayor Ron Meintire also an nounced his candida — He seemed unfazed by the idea of Butler r sriing against him Gharst said ‘After the election, we'll teach the ra tricity or running water “Parents had lost their abil ity to nurture. _—n't worry, it’s going to be OK.’ They could never say that to itheir children|],” Shropshiresaid. Shropshire’s four-week stint was pushed to six. She came home with plans to return. As the foundation grew, she returned as frequently as possible and now spendsat least seven months of each year in Kosovo The program has branched out to schools, makeshift sum mer camps and surrounding ref. ugee camps, where entire fami lies live in spaces barely big enough to serve as bedroomsin U.S. homes. In a place known asthe Slov ene Camp,a particularly dire living area, Stropshireinitially began a program for girls since many of the relief programs in BRAD MYLER Attorney at Law (Orem) 225-6925 1-800-652-9626 + Very high success rate * 1000's of clients seccessfully represented \ + We guarantee success or foe j me QoQ fh oS ors Oe ae = © get by.” Still, thousandsof kids are walking around with harmonicas in their pockets. “There are two types of people. There’s people like me, and I'ma pretty generousgal, but the truth is I need a job, I need a homeand I need my family around me,” said Mary Youngblood of Atlanta, Ga., the foundation’s vice presidentof fund raising. “Then there are people like Liz. They can throw all the normal life stuff away and you need those people. .. . She’s not in it for the money.” One way or another, Shropshire vows to keep returning, still savoring that driveway moment. myountasitrib.com ys like to climb trees What does he do at these things?’ ” Saturday’s top four finishers advanced to the finals, or master’s challenge. For this event, they had to toss a line 60 feet up into a tree, climb it and complete a handful of tasks such as inching out onto a slender, swaying branch to ring a bell within a 20-minute period. The challenge came down to Wes Murray and Mike Minardi, two fearless young climbers with work and recreation,” he said. “T’ve never hada job I’ve loved so much. I love trees.” sriggs@sitrib.com CREMATIONS MOUNTOLIVET compact frames. Both moved almost effortlessly through the large sycamore, but Minardi did it a little faster. Murray, who placed second, wasn’t too disappointed. The 27year-old former rock climber, who worksfor Trees Inc., has a long future in tree care. “It's the perfect mixture of CEMETERY start at $610 363-7065 13.6 seconds i www. garnerfuneral. com THe AssociaTen Parss 6,000 students have been through the various programs, never left her hometown (one of the hardest hit towns) during the war, but says most children lost at least one parent. Andvirtually everyonelost a relative; Vejsa’s immediate family sur vived, but 20 of her cousins died. Refugees returned, often with out fathers and husbands,to a ruined town without shops, elec Ses monicas and penny whistles and began holding classes, no one could ever take it away Shropshire said ‘I'd always wanted to go what shehas andgivingit to others.” don’t be stupid. Don’t just er moo vo oD sheleft for college. Composing the boy would head for a quiet orner and sing. Shropshire was Liz, go to go. Go over there and do ss something that will make the world a better place,” Ed Shrop shire told his only daughter as calm him down was that ‘Cats in Shropshir¢ the Cradle song,” said. Whenever needed, she and cu so &@ had never faded: “Whatever you choose to do with your life, do BEAUTIFUL LOCATIONS ALL GRAVES $700.00 CALL FOR A BROCHURE www.garnerfuneral.com 801-582-2552 Green Stickers...Green Stickers...Green Stickers...Green Stickers... WE DO QUESTAR GREEN STICKER SERVICE VISA « MASTERCARD Weicome * Financing Available through Questar mm°7,395 includes: Standard installation of 80% efficient, 75k BTU Furnace COOLING & HEATING installation - Service - Duct 801 “523-ASAP Salt Lake Co. www aaacoolingandheating com WE SERVICE ALL BRANDS Green Stickers.. Green Stickers...Green Stickers...Green Stickers... ono wu ing movie scores in Hollywood But someadvice from her father Courtesy of the Shropsture Must: Foundation Liz Shropshire, the founder of the Shropshire Music Foundation, teaches a class during a summer camp for children in Kosovo. The foundation provides music education for Kosovar children, many of whom lost families during the war which ended in 1999. Green Stickers...Green Stickers...Green Stickers...Green Stickers... fornia with the idea of compos me earned a master’s degree from the University of SouthernCali ® ©OrnmtOo @ rrr phony about it or something.” After BYU, Shropshire ao. “But I thought ['d write a sym od Ors OO mae “That's when | decided | was going to help kids that wereaf fected by war,” Shropshire said roa yid man.” roo = “couldn't have deen more (nan 8.” Despite his youth, his made him look “so old, like an on Boe woos Belfast. she came across a young boy smoking a cigarette, whe Kosovo was a regular topic in U.S. news reports. That exposure has faded, making fund raising for the foundation more difficult. But the need, even for life’s essentials, has not waned. “The war has been overfor four years, but they’re still living in refugee camps,” Youngblood said. “The refugee camp [Slovene Camp] we work with,it’s as if the war ended yesterday.” The foundation’s operating budget has never been much, around $55,000 at its peak, but Shropshire and her volunteers manage to keep the program running, with hopes of expanding to Sierra Leone and Liberia. The foundation staff includes Shropshire’s family, friends and a few friendsoffriends, some of whom she has never met. “She makes enough money to barely keep it going,” said Brooks, the foundation grant writer and a professorat the University of Texas at Austin. “We'reall amateurs. We're truly a grass-roots project. She’ll be the first to tell you she’s a terrible fund-raiser, but we always ct er, Dian, the “most grvi oe p> not for, ° Cro sek oO live survive.” ‘ to not some nea) thing People need radote just edified. "“SI@HONS USSIE) “SIEHONSG USEIE)' "SISHONS USeIF)““s1eHONS USE it. They need to be uplifted, re well, but not without a few rules. “I will teach you, but you haveto be perfectly behaved. . .. if you talk, you have to leave.” The result of Shropshire’s workis not simply thousands of young Kosovars with an intimate knowledge of harmonicas and penny whistles, singing American tunes andoccasionally writing their own songs. As that happened, kids were able to look beyond the horrorsof the past and embrace the beauty of the present moment. |
