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Free eye exams offered
Screenings are part o f Glaucoma
Awareness Week
PCC enrollment reaches all-time high
c o m R im i u m m n
► O R T i l t P O H fL A \o O B S L R S I R
The N ational Eye In stitu te, in
coordination with the American
A c ad em ies o f O p to m e try and
O phthalm ology, has proclaim ed
January as Glaucoma Awareness
M onth. In c e le b ra tio n o f th is
proclamation, the Pacific University
College o f Optometry Vision Centers
is providing a program o f free
glaucoma screening for adults o f all
ages during the months o f January
and February.
According to eye doctors, glaucoma
is one o f the leading causes o f
blindness and vision loss. In many
cases, the efforts o f glaucoma can be
controlled if the disease is identified
and treated in its early stages.
Glaucoma screenings are essential in
January 5,2000
detecting the presence o f this disease
before serious and permanent vision
loss occurs. Screening for glaucoma
is particularly beneficial for older
adults and for members o f Hispanic
and African American community,
which have a higher incidence of
glaucoma.
Free g la u c o m a sc re e n in g s are
provided by Pacific U niversity’s
Vision Center during January and
February via appointment. Pacific’s
V ision C enters o ffe r w eekday,
evening and weekend hours, with
locations throughout the greater
P o rtla n d in c lu d in g d o w n to w n ,
Southeast and Northeast Portland;
and in Forest Grove and Cornelius.
For more information and to schedule
a screening at the Pacific University
Vision Center near you, please call
357-5800.
Portland Community College, the largest post-secondary school in the state,
crunched enrollment numbers for the final week o f fall term and has determined
that collegeenrollment reached record levels. The report from the Institutional
Research office shows that at the end of the 12th week, 42,748 students were
enrolled fall term at Portland Community College, ajum pof8.9 percent from last
year at the same time. There has also been a 5.2 percent hike in full-time
equivalent (FTE) enrollments. FTE is calculated by adding full- and part-time
enrollments together to make a full-time equivalents student which is determined
at 12 credit hours.
Portland Community College has been on a steady growth curve for the last
several years after a flattening o f enrollments in the mid-90s. The only other
time in PCC history that fall term reached the 40,000 student mark was fall term
1989 when 40,189 students registered for classes.
College officials speculate that a number o f factors are at work. First, the
demographics point to a boomlet o f younger age students entering college.
A report, “A Back to School Special Report on the Baby Boom E ch o -N o End
in Sight,” unveiled by President Clinton and Education Secretary Richard Riley
in August, predicts that college and university enrollment will jum p 10 percent
to 1.5 million students nationwide in the next decade.
The Portland metro area has received a significant increase in population,
particularly in the silicon forest o f Washington County - the western edge of
PCC’s district - where residents have seen a 31 percent jum p in population in
the last decade.
Other factors that could attribute to the jump in enrollment include the rising
cost o f college. At $38 per credit hour, Portland Community College and other
community colleges across the country are an affordable post-secondary
choice for an increasing number o f students.
The case of registration and taking courses has also been augmented with
online registration and online classes. Portland Community College is the first
community college in the state to implement online registration, which began
this fall.
In addition to registering online, students can now take courses via the
computer. These offerings have increased from a handful of courses in the mid-
90s, to approximately 90 classes in a wide variety o f subjects, including
associate-degree options.
The December 13 issue o f Community College Week ranks Portland
Community College at the 14th largest community college in the nation, using
1997-98 U.S. Dept. o f Education data, which is the latest academic year for
which numbers are available. Miami-Dade is ranked number one. West ofthe
Mississippi, PCC ranks eighth largest. Total enrollment, or FTE enrollment for
PCC, is reported at 23,782.
PCC maintains three comprehensive campuses, Cascade, Rock Creek and
Sylvania, four multi-service training centers, and offers classes at 150 locations
throughout its 1,500-square-mile district. The Cascade Campus is located at
705 N. Killingsworth in Portland. Rock Creek Campus can be found between
Beaverton and Hillsboro at 17705 NW. Springville Road. The Sylvania Campus
is located at 12000 SW 49th Ave. in Portland.
Adoption from 1
marveling that in a few weeks she
finally might know the name o f the
woman who left her under a tree when
shew asjust4daysold. Hester carried
a black binder, filled with letters to
people long since dead, documenting
her 50-year search.
“I hope this fills this void, to know
that my birth mother was OK and had
a good life,” said Hester, who was 6
when she learned she was adopted.
Her blue eyes welled with tears, and
her voice trembled as she added, “I
can’t imagine in 1927 what hell she
went through.”
A news article from that year, tucked
into Hester’s binder, reported that
Hester was found sleeping under a
tree and that she was clean and well
cared for. The story also reported
that a woman called the sh eriffs
department to notify officers o f the
infant’s whereabouts. “I’m leaving
town,” the woman said in a broken
voice, “and want my baby to have the
best o f care. Goodbye.”
Unlike Hester, David Proby didn’t
have a “stitch o f information” about
his parents.
The 39-year-old Portland resident said
he was tom about coming to the vital
statistics office on Thursday. “It’s
probably best to let dead dogs lie,”
said Proby, adding that he did not tell
his wife about his decision to get his
birth certificate. “ But I’ve been
curious ever since they told me I was
adopted.”
Michael Hawley Jenkins, a 63-year-
old adoptee who lives in central
California, might have had an inkling
o f how the day would end. “I thought
I should come in quick before the law
changes,” he said.
The Oregon vital records office
received unofficial notice Thursday
afternoon to stop shipping requests
to the state archives in Salem, said
Edward Johnson, state registrar o f
the Center for Health Statistics.
He said his office already had sent 75
orders Thursday morning. If not for
the temporary stay issued during the
afternoon, the requests in this first
batch would have been mailed to
adoptees by the end o f next week.
“We will hold o ff on processing the
orders again until the stay is either
lifted, or some other action occurs,”
said Johnson, who added that he was
not s u rp rise d by T h u rs d a y ’s
decision. “Until all legal avenues are
exhausted, this is potentially going
to continue.”
The vital records office will continue
accepting requests, Johnson said. If
the stay is lifted, applications will be
processed in the order received.
Charles Hinkle, an appellate law
specialist, said the Supreme Court
probably will decide within two
months whether to hear the case once
the birth mothers submit a petition for
review. Although the court has a list
o f factors to consider, Hinkle said the
high visibility o f the subject might
lead the court to rule on the measure.
“The Oregon Supreme Court might
want to weigh in on this area that is an
emerging issue around the country,”
he said.
2
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