TUESDAY MORNING NOTES - July 26, 2011

Tue Jul 26 10:50:09 MST 2011

TMN submittal:
http://cals.arizona.edu/extension/tuesday/form/submittal_form.html 

Tuesday Morning Notes 

July 26, 2011

FOCUS ON STAFF:

I'd like to welcome LoriAnne Barnett <mailto:labarnett at email.arizona.edu> ,
Program Coordinator, Senior, who will be working temporary part-time in the
State 4-H office assisting 4-H Director, Kirk Astroth during my Interim
Director of Extension duties.  She will be giving leadership to specific 4-H
program, including the facilitation of an agent advisory committee for the
4-H camping program, agent and volunteer professional development, managing
the 4-H peer-reviewed publication process, representing Arizona 4-H on
community and statewide youth initiatives, and assisting with the Japanese
exchange program.  She has 5 years of experience as a 4-H Agent from
Virginia and a Master's in Environmental Science and Education.  Please help
us welcome her to the staff and you will probably be hearing from her in the
future.  LoriAnne will be in the office Tuesdays and Thursdays and can be
reached at 520.626-6131.

CIVIL RIGHTS AUDIT: 

As many of you know, we had a civil rights audit last year which produced a
number of recommendations for improvements.  One of those was that
"reasonable accommodations for qualified disabled clientele are required
unless Extension can show that the accommodation would create an undue
financial hardship.  UACE should ensure that program announcements produced
at the county level contain a special needs accommodation statement for the
disabled to participate in all programs."  

There is no clear definition of reasonable accommodation.  There are,
however, examples of the meaning.  It does include such actions as providing
sign language interpreters for the hearing impaired or using special
equipment to assist the sight impaired.  The difficulty arises when making
accommodations would be so costly that the program is jeopardized in some
other way.

We are under the mandate to provide the service/assistance necessary.  If we
have specific cases where we think we cannot provide reasonable
accommodation, we need to consult with the University of Arizona Office of
Institutional Equity <http://equity.arizona.edu/>  at 520.621.9449.

In our response to the Civil Rights Compliance Review, we indicated that we
would further emphasize our special needs accommodations statement which
reads: "Persons with a disability may request a reasonable accommodation,
such as a sign language interpreter, by contacting (insert name, telephone
number).  Requests should be made as early as possible to allow time to
arrange the accommodation."  This statement can also be found on our
recently revised
<http://extension.arizona.edu/state/affirmative-action-and-accommodation-sta
tements> Affirmative Action and Accommodation Statements web site.

Please be sure you add this statement to your program announcements if you
are not already doing so.

MEDICAL MARIJUANA ACT (Proposition 203) and UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA
COOPERATIVE EXTENSION: 

Recently, University of Arizona Cooperative Extension faculty received a few
inquiries from legal growers of medical marijuana for advice on treating
pests and fertilizer applications.  The following policies have been
approved at a recent CALS Executive Council meeting and we are sharing these
with you.  This policy will be added to our policy and procedures manual.

Arizona voters recently approved the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act
(Proposition 203) which, under certain circumstances, permits individuals to
possess and use limited quantities of marijuana for medical purposes.
Because of its obligations under federal law, however, the University of
Arizona has and will continue to prohibit marijuana possession and use on
campus or on any University facility, to include Cooperative
Extension/Tribal/Experiment Station offices for any purpose.

Federal law, entitled The Controlled Substances Act, prohibits the
possession, use or production of marijuana, even for medical use.  To
achieve the policy and objective of providing a drug free environment, the
University of Arizona will continue to enforce its current policies
prohibiting the unlawful manufacture, distribution, dispensation, possession
or use of a controlled substance on its property or as part of any of its
activities.

These restrictions apply to all University of Arizona Cooperative Extension
faculty and staff members to include Master Gardener volunteers.

.       While the use of Medical Marijuana is legal in the state of Arizona,
Cannabis spp. remains a Schedule 1 illegal drug under Federal law and as
such, Arizona Cooperative Extension cannot be involved with this plant in
any form or context-including advice on appropriate applications of
pesticides such as insecticides, herbicides and fungicides to control pests
or of growth regulators, fertilizers or other substances to improve the
growth of Cannabis spp. plants, or advice on appropriate engineering
controls or design, growing conditions or environments, and other
information used to grow, propagate, manage or enhance production of
Cannabis spp.

-        Assistance with medical marijuana plant health questions will not
be provided by Extension faculty. 

-        Individuals requesting such information will not be provided
referral information. 

.       Our offices are considered drug free workplaces.

-        Cannabis spp. plants and/or plant parts are not permitted in any
Extension/Experiment Station office or on University of Arizona property. 

-        Cannabis spp. plants or plant parts delivered to or left at
Extension/Experiment Station offices will be turned over to legal
authorities for destruction. 

.       If Extension employees or volunteers (including Master Gardeners)
assist medical marijuana growers, they will be acting outside the scope of
their employee/volunteer role and assume personal liability for any legal
action that may be taken against them.

Thanks to Bill McCloskey and Peter Ellsworth for their help in drafting this
policy.  

NEW PUBLICATION:

Arizona Project WET Water Festivals: A Summative Evaluation
<http://cals.arizona.edu/pubs/water/az1546.pdf>  by Holly Thomas--Hilburn
and Kerry Schwartz.

Kirk A. Astroth
Interim Associate Dean and Director
Arizona Cooperative Extension
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
PO Box 210036
Tucson, AZ  85721-0036
520.621.7205
520.621.1314 (fax)

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