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Prayer

Relationship Between Purdue Extension and IEHA Concerning Prayer

Handicapped Accessibility at Garden Tours

AA/EEO Statements on Postcards

Keeping Records

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Prayer

Q.  Can you recommend acceptable prayers that may be delivered at public meetings?

A.  The article Prayer in a Public Institution addresses the issue of prayer.  Prayer at Purdue Extension Sponsored Events provides guidelines on prayer and gives examples of alternative openings/reflections at events. 

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Relationship Between Purdue Extension and IEHA Concerning Prayer

Q.   Prayer is a concern with collaborating organizations like Extension Homemakers...why and what is our role?

A.  Purdue Extension and the Indiana Extension Homemakers Association explains our relationship with the Indiana Extension Homemaker organization regarding prayer.

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Handicapped Accessibility at Garden Tours

Q.  Our Master Gardener Association will be holding a garden tour.  Several gardens around the community will be opened up to the public.  These gardens are located on private properties; most, but not all of the gardens are owned by Master Gardeners.

A.  A visit with the Purdue ADA office in regard to our responsibility that may go beyond the inclusion of the following statement on the flier:

If you have special needs, please contact us prior to the event at ___________ or call:  888-EXT-INFO and ask for ___________ County office.

Since the tour will be held on private property, we are under no obligation to alter the property to make it physically accessible.  However, if someone contacts us ahead of time, we need to do the best we can to help them participate in the tour.  That does not necessarily mean physically alter the private property.  We might use a digital camera or camcorder to capture the highlights and record the tour to play back or show them.  If they show up at a site, again, we do not have to physically alter the property.  We need to do what would be considered a "reasonable" accommodation that would allow them to participate on the tour.

In essence, we have a responsibility to be creative and do what is reasonable that would allow anyone to be able to participate in some form.

Commendations go to your group for thinking ahead.  Your group may want to discuss this ahead of time and even include mention of an accommodation in some of the pre-publicity (i.e. record the event ahead of time and have an area where visitors might be able to sit and review).

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AA/EEO Statements on Postcards

Q.  In the past, our office postcards that we printed with the Purdue logo and return address have had the Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Institution statement printed on the back of the postcard.  Does it make a difference if we put this statement on the front of the card (below the recipient's address)?  If we can put it on the front of the card, it will be less expensive having the postcards printed.

A.  The post office will not allow anything to be placed below the address section on a postcard since they use that area to put bar code information.

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Keeping Records

Q.  How long are we required to keep the records that we have in this file?

A.  Federal and State requirements indicate that materials that deal with the ongoing operations of the Extension program (letters/emails to clientele, committee membership lists, training correspondence, etc.), should be physically/electronically kept and available for review and audit for a two (2) year period.  This means that you would have documentation for the year that you are working in plus at least two (2 years) previous.  Items that deal with personnel transactions, budgeting and finance, etc. should be kept and available for review and audit for at least seven (7) years.  It is also recommended that anything that may be of historical significance to the county organization to be kept permanently.  After the respective three (3) and seven (7) year periods, materials may be purged and files may be collapsed, keeping only those significant and necessary items as discussed to assist with office space management.

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Questions or comments contact:  mmanning@purdue.edu