Business StoneGate Realty named Chamber December business of the month Friday, December 24, 2010
Submitted by Meade Co. Chamber of Commerce StoneGate Realty is the Meade County Area Chamber of Commerce’s member of the month for December. The company was selected because of its success during its decade in operation, its support of the Chamber of Commerce, and its involvement in the on-going work of the Meade County BRAC Action Group, according to President Kelly Roberts. “StoneGate’s owner, Mickey Chism, was one of the key leaders of the effort to market Meade County to U.S. Army military and civilian personnel when the current round of base realignment and closure was announced,” Roberts said. “When many people in the community expressed doubts about whether BRAC would even take place, he understood from the very beginning the profound impact it would have on our region.” After seven years working for others in the real estate business, Chism opened StoneGate in January 2001 with a former co-worker, Delaine Streible, joining his staff a few months later. His motivation for going out on his own was simple, he said: “So I could put my philosophy into practice, and that’s to treat people
Submitted Photo
Members of the staff of StoneGate Realty are, from left, receptionist Donna Carter, realtor Ben Farmer, owner Mickey Chism, realtor Amy Chism Haynes, and realtor Delaine Streible. Realtor William Loyall was absent when the picture was made. the way I want to be treated, give people good information and give people time to make a good decision.” His philosophy, he said, has paid dividends in the form of a stable real estate agency that handles real estate sales in Meade, Breckinridge, Hardin, and Jefferson counties, deals with rentals for select clients, and manages some 80 rental properties of its own. “We work hard and we care” is the way Streible, a realtor, sums up the philoso-
phy that guides StoneGate. On the company’s staff along with Chism and Streible are realtors Amy Chism Haynes, Ben Farmer, William Loyall, and receptionist Donna Carter. Reflecting on the impact of the BRAC, Chism says about 80 percent of StoneGate’s business within the past year has been tied to those changes which will continue to take place at Fort Knox well into 2011. And, although the amount of good-quality
rental property in Meade County was grown in recent years, he says there remains a shortage of what he calls “high-end rental property in the $1,200 to $1,400 per month range.” When it comes to making decisions about supporting community projects, Chism says he tends to favor those endeavors and projects that have a proven track record of benefiting the people of Meade County. StoneGate will begin its 11th year in the same location where it started — at 2852 Brandenburg Road, near the intersection of Kentucky 448 and Kentucky 1638. The company and its sales staff can be reached by telephone at 270-422-7970, and by e-mail at stoneg@bbtel. com. Its online address is www.stonegateky.com; the site includes all of its property listings. Chism says the company’s listings also are available at www.realtor.com and www.trulia.com. In addition to being an active member of the Chamber of Commerce, StoneGate is a member of the Heart of Kentucky Association of Realtors and the Greater of Louisville Association of Realtors, which gives it access to the multiple-listing services of both those organizations.
Prepaid credit cards can be risky, be aware By David Uffington Dollars and Sense The government did us a favor when it created the CARD Act, which reined in banks and credit-card companies that had been collecting millions of extra dollars from consumers. Thanks to the Card ACT, we gained 21 days to make a payment, 45 days notification of serious changes in terms, the little box on the statements that shows how long it will take to pay off the debt if we only pay the minimum, and more. Now a new industry has sprung up, devising new ways to separate us from our dollars: the prepaid card, also called the “reloadable” card. Consumers are invited to use the prepaid cards as they would a bank: deposit a paycheck, have bills automati-
cally paid out of the balance, buy groceries. The cards can be purchased and reloaded nearly anywhere, including convenience stores and bigbox stores. Prepaid cards are becoming big business as more and more people opt out of having regular checking and savings accounts. Some lack good credit; many don’t want to incur credit-card interest; while others simply want the convenience of not carrying cash. The prepaid cards, however, don’t come with the same protections as credit cards: Those CARD Act laws don’t cover prepaid cards, especially when it comes to fees. If you put, say, $100 on a prepaid card, you’d think you’d have that whole $100 of your own money to spend. Not so. Prepaid cards can come
with: purchase fees, activation fees, minimum deposit fees, card-replacement fees, withdrawal fees, ATM inquiry fees, cancellation fees, monthly fees, reload fees, annual fees, PIN fees and even fees to talk to customer service. Prepaid cards generally put a temporary lock on your funds when used at a gas station or for hotels, denying you access to your own money. Some of the prepaid cards even include a line of credit or overdraft protection. If you don’t keep careful track of the associated fees, you can spend more than you expect and incur debt. There’s also no credit reporting with prepaid cards, which means they can’t be used to build up a credit history. Instead of paying fees to use your own money, open a bank account and use the
‘Dear Santa’ Web sites should be checked twice Submitted by the Better Business Bureau More than 60 domain names have been registered in the name of Santa Claus, offering children a wide range of opportunities to persuade St. Nick via e-mail that they were not at all naughty in 2010. Before allowing children to share any personal information with a “Letter to Santa” Web site, the Better Business Bureau Children’s Advertising Review Unit (CARU) recommends adults carefully review the sites to determine who is seeking the information, how it will be used, and whether information will be shared with third parties. “Even Santa is required to comply with CARU’s Online Privacy Protection guidelines and the federal Children’s Online Privacy
Protection Act,” CARU Director Wayne J. Keeley said. All Web sites directed to children — or Web sites designed with a special children’s section — should have a privacy policy that explains the site’s information collection practices.The privacy policy should include the name of the company and the company’s complete contact information. It should also state whether the company shares information with third parties, including advertisers, and whether the company publically discloses the information or retains the information for any future purpose. Web sites directed to children should not ask a child to disclose more information than is reasonably necessary to participate in the activity — a first name and email address, for instance.
Limit the personal information children share with Santa and omit physical addresses — Santa already knows where all the children live. Check Web sites for unwelcome content. Some sites are geared toward adults and may contain language or advertising adults may not want children to see. Since hyperlinks can allow children to move seamlessly from one site to another, investigate the hyperlinks to assure children don’t access inappropriate content. For more information on how to keep your kids safe online, please visit www. CARU.org. Parents who are concerned about the safety of specific child-directed Web sites and advertising can file a complaint at www.caru.org/complaint/ index.aspx.
StockS of local intereSt Quotes effective as of close of market Monday, December 20, 2010 Deere & Co. ................................DE ............... 82.57 Caterpillar Inc............................CAT ............... 93.30 Ford Motor Co. .............................. F ............... 16.85 Harley-Davidson .....................HOG ............... 34.38 CSX Corp...................................CSX ............... 63.28 General Electric Co. ....................GE ............... 17.70 Peabody Energy ........................ BTU ............... 61.96 Marathon Oil...........................MRO ............... 35.91 Chevron ................................... CVX ............... 88.80 Arch Chemicals ..........................ARJ ............... 35.55 Brown Forman B....................... BF B ............... 70.61 Lowes Companies ...................LOW ............... 25.56 Home Depot Inc.........................HD ............... 35.20 McDonalds Corp .....................MCD ............... 76.92 Papa Johns .............................. PZZA ............... 26.92 Yum! Brands Inc ...................... YUM ............... 49.62 Coca-Cola Co ............................. KO ............... 65.31 Pepsico Inc ................................ PEP ............... 66.31 RadioShack .............................. RSH ............... 18.42 Best Buy Co Inc .........................BBY ............... 33.97 Dell Inc ................................... DELL ............... 13.36
Microsoft CP........................... MSFT ............... 27.81 Wells Fargo & Co .................... WFC ............... 30.10 Vulcan Materials ..................... VMC ............... 45.50 Proctor & Gamble ...................... PG ............... 64.97 Johnson & Johnson ..................... JNJ ............... 62.49 Wal-Mart Stores ...................... WMT ............... 53.77 United Parcel B..........................UPS ............... 72.74 Fedex Corp ............................... FDX ............... 93.56 Dow Jones Industrial Average ................... 11,478.13 *This is for informational purposes only and should not be considered a recommendation to purchase, sell, or hold any particular security.
Earl F. Wright
Financial Advisor 425 Broadway Brandenburg, KY 40108 270-422-1922
debit card that comes with it. David Uffington regrets that he cannot personally answer reader questions, but will incorporate them into his column whenever possible. Write to him in care of King Features Weekly Service, P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475, or send e-mail to columnreply@gmail.com.
The News Standard - A11
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