Educational Travelogue:

New Zealand

“A Short Trip Through the Land of the Long White Cloud”

Friday, November 4^th at 1:30 pm

Aotearoa, the land of the long white cloud – otherwise known to most westerners as New Zealand – is an amazing country filled with exotic Polynesian cultures and scenic vistas that take your breath away. Join Tom Besson, a permanent resident of New Zealand who is in Hillsboro visiting his father, for an expedition to the Kiwi country on Friday, November 4^th, at 1:30 pm. Together, we will explore New Zealand’s rich history, culture, and diversity of flora and fauna, including many species found nowhere else in the world.

Our journey will begin with a brief mihi, or formal welcome speech in Maori, one of New Zealand’s three official languages. Next, we will travel back in time to trace New Zealand’s discovery, its annexation by the British, and their recognition of the Queen of England as their sovereign ruler. With Tom as our guide, we will experience New Zealand’s current culture and rituals, as well as explore the country’s rich flora and fauna.

Most impressive, however, is our final destination: a virtual trip throughout all of New Zealand. From the top of the North Island where the Pacific Ocean and Tasman Sea crash together to the bottom of the South Island, where on a clear day you can almost see Antarctica, a New Zealand adventure as seen through Tom’s eyes and his wife Ann’s camera lens is waiting for us!

An international educator with thirteen circumnavigations of the planet under his belt, Tom brings with him a vast knowledge of the world and its treasures. His father, Woody Besson, is a resident of Cornell Estates Retirement & Assisted Living Community in Hillsboro. Tom is ‘chuffed’, as the Kiwis would say, to share it with the Cornell Estates residents and Hillsboro community members at large.

This program is free and open to the public. Cornell Estates is located at 1007 NE 17^th Avenue, Hillsboro. For more information, call (503) 640-2882.

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Today’s Tip: Preparing your garden for spring planting

Hello and welcome, fellow gardeners!

We’re delighted to entertain and educate you each Friday as Arden shares garden tips learned over a lifetime as a master gardener.

This week, Arden tackles a tough question: how do you plant your vegetables in March if the ground is as soggy as it can be? The answer: do the preparation now, before the rainy season. Just click the play button below to learn more!

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Today’s Tip: Harvesting Your Tomato Seeds

Hello and welcome, fellow gardeners!

We’re delighted to entertain and educate you each Friday as Arden shares garden tips learned over a lifetime as a master gardener.

This week, Arden discusses the best methods for harvesting your tomato seeds for use in next year’s garden. Did you know that some varieties of tomatoes are better to re-seed than others? Just click the play button below to learn more!

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Dental Clinic Grand Opening

&

Oral Health Workshop

Tuesday, October 24^th at 2:30 pm

In partnership with the Pacific University School of Dental Health Science, Cornell Estates is proud to invite you to the grand opening of our very own on-site Dental Clinic on Tuesday, October 25th at 2:30 pm!

Officials from Pacific University will be on hand for the inaugural “ribbon cutting” on this new service for Cornell Estates residents and staff.  We will have a short reception afterwards and then, at 3:00 pm, senior Pacific University dental students will offer a special Oral Health presentation.  Their presentation will help us better understand the intricate connection between our dental health and our overall physical health.

Cornell Estates’ in-house dental clinic is the culmination of a reciprocal community partnership project that began over 3 years ago with Pacific University College of Health Professions, in which Cornell Estates residents serve as mentors to assist university students in their field work experience.   In the partnership projects with the Dental Health Science program, senior dental students provide basic dental services at reduced rate for our residents, who in turn teach the dental students about the unique challenges of maintaining optimum oral health as we age.

Special thanks go to Forest Enterprises, who graciously donated the dental chair which has provided Cornell Estates the unique opportunity for this permanent on-site Dental Clinic!

This event is free and open to the public. For more information on the Pacific University dental clinic, please contact Landa Carlson, Cornell Estates Retirement & Assisted Living, at (503) 640-2884 or by email.

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Educational Travelogue:

Geology of the Columbia Gorge

Monday, October 24^th at 1:30 pm

The Columbia River Gorge is one of the most striking features in Oregon.  But how did this amazing landmark form? Travel back in time with Marjorie Burns on Tuesday, October 24^th, at 1:30 pm at Cornell Estates Retirement & Assisted Living as she describes the geology that gave the Gorge its striking features.

Marjorie will also tell a second story about J Harlen Bretz, the man who first proposed that an ancient flood formed the Columbia Gorge.  His theory was wildly unpopular even through the 1920s, when most geologists were trying to wean the public away from images of the Biblical flood affecting local geology.

But, as it turns out, Bretz was correct: Giant floods, racing across Eastern Washington into the Columbia basin and on down to the ocean, were what created the shapes, formations, and waterfalls we see in the Columbia Gorge today.

Marjorie Burns is a professor emeritus of nineteenth century British Literature at Portland State University and one of the two original authors of Cataclysms on the Columbia. Copies of her book will be available for purchase after the presentation.

This program is free and open to the public.  Cornell Estates is located at 1005 NE 17^th Avenue, Hillsboro.  For more information, please call (503) 640-2884.

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Today’s Tip: Ripening Your Tomatoes

Welcome to our first Arden in the Garden blog!

We’re delighted to welcome you each Friday as Arden shares garden tips learned over a lifetime as a master gardener.

This week, Arden discusses the best methods for ripening your tomatoes. For a quick tip to get you started, just click the play button below!

Do you want to know more about growing ripe, delicious tomatoes? Click the play button for more tips and instructions!

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Encore Partner of the Month:

Josefina Salazar

Josefina Salazar joined us as at Cornell Estates as an Encore Partner in May.  She is originally from Chile, and is married with 3 boys ages 16, 22, and 23.  She has worked for the Hillsboro School District in administration for over 8 years.

Josefina first discovered Cornell Estates two years ago when she and her family participated in the    Eagle Scouts Pinewood Derby event.  Josefina was so struck by the friendliness and warmth at Cornell Estates that she returned this summer  to offer an  Introduction to Spanish class for residents and to participate in Friendly Visiting each Friday .

Would Josefina recommend being an Encore Partner at Cornell Estates to her friends?  “Absolutely!  I tell everybody!  Get out there, put yourself out there.   It is such a joy, pure joy!”

If you are interested in becoming an Encore Partner, please contact us! We would love to have you!

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Oregon Poet Laureate Paulann Petersen

Reading & Discussion

Wednesday, October 19^th at 2:00 pm

In this modern age of texting and email, the art of capturing the world around us in poems is a rare talent.  Luckily for us, it’s a talent that the current Oregon Poet Laureate has in abundance. That is why we are delighted to invite you to a reading and discussion by Oregon Poet Laureate Paulann Petersen on Wednesday, October 19^th at 2:00 pm at Cornell Estates Retirement & Assisted Living in Hillsboro.

The Oregon Poet Laurate, selected by the governor, is someone who has captured “the beauty and spirit of the state through the medium of verse.”  A native Oregonian, Paulann was first inspired to capture Klamath Fall’s high plateau landscape in verse. Her first poem, which appeared in The Oregonian in 1975, encouraged her to become a high school English teacher and to pursue her poetry.  She received a Stegner fellowship to study at Stanford with notable poets Adrienne Rich and Grace Paley in the 1980s.

She has published numerous books of her poetry, as well individual poems in dozens of magazines, anthologies, and Poetry in Motion, which places poems on Tri-Met buses.  Now retired, Paulann has given readings in hundreds of places around Oregon.  She also frequently teaches workshops for colleges, high schools, libraries, and writers’ organizations.

The position of Oregon Poet Laureate was first established in 1923 and adopted by the Oregon legislature in 1989.  Paulann became the 6^th Poet Laureate in April 2010 with an initial appointment of two years.  Previous Poet Laureates include Lawson Fusao Inada, William Stafford, Ethel Romig Fuller, Ben Hur Lampman, and Edwin Markham.

This program is free and open to the public.  Cornell Estates is located at 1007 NE 17^th Avenue in Hillsboro, OR.  For more information, please call (503) 640-288.

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Hillsboro Mayor celebrates 120 Cornell Estates Volunteers!

On September 26^th, Hillsboro Mayor Jerry Willey and emcee, Mike Majowicz, the 2010 Oregon Governor’s Outstanding Senior Volunteer Award recipient, recognized over 120 volunteers at Cornell Estates 1st Annual Encore Recognition Event.  The event celebrated the accomplishments of volunteers over the past year in over 40 service projects both within Cornell Estates and with local Community Partners.

The Encore Opportunities @ Cornell Estates initiative was formalized over 3 years ago to specifically create opportunities for Cornell Estates residents who enjoy community service projects.  Cornell Estates refers to these 95+ resident volunteers as Encore Partners, and now has over 25 local community members of all ages who have also joined in.

Some of the projects, such as Friendly Visiting, Friendly Readers, and Librarians on Wheels, take place within Cornell Estates.   Other projects, such as SMART Readers, Pen Pals for 3^rd Graders, and English Conversation with English-language learners, take place out in the community with local organizations.

As part of the initiative, Cornell Estates has developed deep and ongoing relationships with Community Partners, such as Mooberry Elementary, Adelante Mujeres, Washington County Child Welfare Department, and Pacific University College of Health Professions.

The basis of the initiative is that staying engaged with each other is good for our health at every age.  Having a large palette of project choices is intentional, recognizing that each individual will be motivated to engage by different types of projects.

For more information on becoming an Encore Partner at Cornell Estates, please call us at (503) 640-2884.

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Are you ready for flu season?

Get your flu & pneumonia vaccine

Tuesday, October 11^th

Available to the general public 10:00 am – 12:00 pm

According to the CDC, flu seasons are unpredictable in a number of ways. Although epidemics of flu happen every year, the timing, severity, and length of the epidemic depends on many factors, including what influenza viruses are spreading and whether they match the viruses in the vaccine.  However, the first and most important step to protecting against the flu is to get a yearly flu shot as early in the flu season as possible.

That’s why we’ll be hosting Get A Flu Shot clinic on Tuesday, October 11th from 9:00 am -12:00 pm.  Get a Flu Shot.com will be giving the influenza and pneumonia shots and billing most insurances.  We will have a list by the end of September along with consent forms to be completed.  The clinic will be open to the public from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm, leaving the 9:00 am hour reserved for our residents.

Cornell Estates is located at 1007 NE 17^th Avenue in Hillsboro, OR.  For more information, please call (503) 640-2882.

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