Understanding the U.S. credit downgrade - … 11, 2011 · (Tarzan, Mars Saga) 1922 Yvonne De Carlo...
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Volume 113 No. 22 75 Cents Thursday September 01, 2011 P.O. Box 278 •105 W. Main Street • Boise City, Oklahoma 73933-0278 • Cimarron County Phone 580-544-2222 • Fax 580-544-3281 • e-mail [email protected] Visit The Boise City News online at it’s Website at boisecitynews.org Or it’s new Weblog at boisecitynews2.wordpress.com BOISE CITY WEATHER Hi Lo rn Tue. Aug. 23 98 64 Wed. Aug. 24 101 64 Thurs. Aug. 25 98 62 Fri. Aug. 26 100 68 Sat. Aug. 27 95 68 .12 Sun. Aug. 28 97 68 Mon. Aug. 29 90 67 .02 MARKETS Wheat $8.13 Milo $7.34 Corn $8.40 (spot prices subject to change) THIS DAY IN MUSIC BORN ON SEPT. 1 DEATHS-PG. 3 DORTHY KOHLER- 84 THIS DAY IN HISTORY SEPT. 1 1866 James “Gentleman Jim” Corbett heavyweight champion boxer (1892-97) 1875 Edgar Rice Burroughs novelist (Tarzan, Mars Saga) 1922 Yvonne De Carlo Vancouver BC, actress (10 Commandments, Munsters) 1923 Rocky Marciano heavyweight champion boxer (1952-56) 1933 Conway Twitty [Harold Jenkins], Miss, country singer (Hello Darlin’) 69 Traditional date of the destruction of Jerusalem 1614 Vincent Fettmich expells Jews from Frank- furt-on-Main, Germany 1739 35 Jews sentenced to life in prison in Lisbon Por- tugal 1807 Aaron Burr acquitted of charges of plotting to set up an empire 1865 Joseph Lister per- forms 1st antiseptic sur- gery 1922 NYC law requires all “pool” rooms to change name to “billards” 1941 Yellow star becomes obligatory for Jews in the Reich to wear HAVE YOU SEEN THIS WOMAN??? OKLA. GOV. MARY FALLIN Many months ago, The Boise City News, sent Gov. Fallin an e-mail to her office informing her that though we were sure she and the Federal Government were helping our farmers, that the people of Cimarron County needed to see her boots on the ground to know she cared. We re- ceived no answer and the Gov- ernor, has yet to visit, (She missed two opportunities while campaigning.) We offered a bounty of $50 for Governor Henry, but since Ms. Fallin carried the county and she still hasn’t visited, The Boise City News will pay $25 to the per- son that proves to us she’s been here as governor. CIMARRON COUNTY JAIL BLOTTER 1952, Atlantic Records bought Ray Charles’ con- tract from Swingtime Records, where Charles had been recording in the mellower, bluesy style of Nat King Cole and Charles Brown. 1953, The Texas duo of Buddy Holly and Bob Montgomery auditioned for radio station KDAV’s Sun- day Party. The duo started a slot on Sunday afternoon that became known as The Bob and Buddy Show. 1956, 19 year old Jerry Lee Lewis arrived at Sun Records hoping for an au- dition, only to find that owner Sam Phillips was on vacation in Florida. Jerry Lee recorded some demos that Phillips would hear when he returned. 8-24 James Winford Maddox- warrant, failure to appear, released on a bond of $12,000. Rakim Jamar Brown- DUS, Speeding, held on a bond of $17,000. 8-26 Cole Twombly- Serving time. Daniel Foster- Possession of a controlled dangerous substance, (Meth), and paraphernalia, bonded out. Duane Foster- Possession of a controlled dangerous substance, (Meth), and paraphernalia, bonded out. It’s open... Traffic started over the U.S. Highway 287 by-pass on Tuesday. The by-pass crosses over U.S. 56/64/412, just east of Boise City. WE GONNA CHUNK THE GREAT PUNKIN, CHARLIE BROWN By Deb Rebel The P&T Grower Club has a very busy fair week, the 13th through 17th of September! Come Join Us Team Inertia, centrifugal flinger Punkin Chunkin team, will be near the Cimarron County Free Fair; Thursday, Friday, and Saturday after- noons. They’re here to strut their stuff, tune their machine, and CHUNK. The Science Channel will be joining the fun Thursday, to film for a show called “The Road to Chunkin” which will be aired in October in the leadup to the show fea- turing the National Punkin Chunkin contest held in early November and show aired near Thanksgiving. We look forward to them coming and chunkin’ for us. However we still need two ad- joining quarter sections to chunk over, preferably next to the fair- grounds and going south to north. The bottom few acres will get trampled, and the rest will gain some smashed pumpkin and some ATV tracks. If you can help out in this, it would be greatly ap- preciated. The loan of some cattle panels for marking off the ‘pit’ area to keep people safe and off the field would also be most greatly appreciated. And last but not least, we’re short of hands... This is a great opportunity to show everyone out there what Boise City is really like, please help in boosting our fine city, our great county, and of course, our Fair! The Tomato Weighoff will be held Wednesday, September 13th from 3-6 pm, at the New Fair Building. It does not have to be ripe. It does not have to be per- fect. You do not have to be a county resident to enter the con- test. First prize senior division, $500! ($500/250/100/75/50/25/ 20/15/10/5) and Junior Division $100 ($50 EE savings bond and $50 cash) ($50-50/50/25/10/5) Junior must be under 15 as of the day of the weigh off. The Five State Cimarron Weigh off for Giant Pumpkins and Giant Squash will be held in the Arena, Saturday Septem- ber 17, from 9 a.m. to when- ever we’re done. These are the big ones that fill the backend of a pickup and need a forklift. We will be even more honored to have an officer of the GPC (Great Pumpkin Common- wealth) attending this year, this is the sanctioning authority who supplies the rules and regula- tions we follow. If you remem- ber the big pumpkins on a trailer at the fair and on north Ellis; these should be even bigger. Don’t forget, there are a number of additional premiums offered for fair entries by the P&T Grower’s Club. Check the fair books for the classes and amounts. Come to the Fair, we’re going to have a blast! The Oklahoma State and Education Employees Group Insurance Board (OSEEGIB) has adopted premium rates for its HealthChoice health, dental, life, and disability insurance plans. The Board action took place at its August 19 meeting and will be effective for the 2012 Plan Year. The adopted premiums for the High Option health plan rep- resent an overall decrease of .4% over current rates. For 2012, the Board voted to use $39 mil- lion in reserve dollars that are available as a result of lower than expected claims costs over the past two years. The use of reserve dollars will off-set the projected 5% increase in claim cost that was announced during the July meeting. The most sig- nificant premium savings were seen in the spouse rate which experienced a 2% decrease. Also, for the 2012 Plan Year, HealthChoice health plans will be adopting additional screening, prevention, and treatment ser- vices that will be available with no cost sharing to members. Board Chairman Richard Womack said, “Although health care costs continue to increase, the Board is pleased that reserve dollars were sufficient to help stabilize premiums. While we were able to eliminate and mini- mize increases for 2012, the Board’s consulting actuary pro- jected a 5% increase in total plan costs. We need to be mindful that we are not immune from these cost increases and plan reserves may not always be available to off-set premiums,” he said. “Both the projected in- crease for 2012, along with any projected increases for 2013, based on the upward trend in healthcare costs, will be factors in setting premiums for the 2013 Plan Year,” Mr. Womack added. “In the past five years, pre- miums for the HealthChoice plans have increased an aver- age of 4.5% which is about half of the national average of ap- proximately 10%,” stated Frank Wilson, plan administrator. Ad- ditionally, Mr. Wilson said, “As a self-funded plan, HealthChoice rates are a direct reflection of plan claims costs with more than 95% of all pre- mium dollars paid out in mem- ber claims.” In addition to using plan re- serves to off-set premiums, the Board approved other plan changes designed to reduce plan costs. Beginning January 1, OSEEGIB Adopts Rates for 2012 Plan Reserves Used to Stabilize Premiums and Limit Increases HealthChoice plans will make a mail-order pharmacy program for maintenance medications available to all pre-Medicare members. Maintenance medica- tions are prescriptions that are usually taken on a daily basis and include drugs used to treat high- blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, heart conditions, etc. By adopting a mail-order phar- macy program, it is estimated the plan will save about $9 million in prescription drug costs. Another significant change for 2012 is the introduction of two new plans, the HealthChoice High Alternative and HealthChoice Basic Alter- native. These new plans are specifically designed for mem- bers and their dependents that use tobacco. Mr. Wilson stated, “Health conditions related to the use of tobacco cost the HealthChoice plans and our members approximately $52 million annually. While the pre- miums for the new alternative plans will be the same as our standard High Option and Ba- sic plans, the annual deductibles and out-of-pocket limits will each increase by $250,” he said. After applying the premium subsidy, HealthChoice Basic Plan rates for 2012 will experi- ence an average overall pre- mium decrease of about 1%. Premiums for the HealthChoice Medicare Supplement Plans With Part D were projected to increase by nearly 14%; however, after ap- plying the premium subsidy, the increase was capped at about 8%. Similarly, the premiums for the Medicare supplement plans without Part D were projected to increase by approximately 11%; but with the application of the premium subsidy, the pre- mium increase was limited to around 5.6%. 2012 premiums for the HealthChoice Dental Plan will increase by just more than 1%, while premiums for the HealthChoice Disability Plan will remain unchanged. Premiums for the HealthChoice Life Insur- ance Plan will decrease slightly. The 2012 premium rates were calculated by the Board’s actuary, AON Hewitt, based on actual HealthChoice claims ex- perience data for the past 24 months. OSEEGIB provides health, dental, life, and disability insur- ance to governmental and edu- cation employees, retirees, and dependents. I have old coins and bills for sale. Lots of Wheat pennies, and other miscellaneous coins, plus some $2 bills. Call me at 544- 3150 The Boise City Booster Club will meet the first Wednesday of every month at 6 p.m. at Dairy Queen. We encourage everyone to come out and help us support the ‘Cats and Lady ‘Cats this year!! A TIP OF THE HAT TO: ATTENTION!! Jessie Shannon and the guys at Boise City Co- Op for their efforts to clean up the area. For most Americans, having access to a High-Speed Internet connection has become as much of a necessity as hav- ing access to telephone service or electricity. However, a large portion of the United States is still denied access to this essen- tial source of fast-moving infor- mation, education, and com- merce. Although most metro- politan areas are covered well with DSL, cable, and fiber op- tics, rural areas are limited to satellite Internet or dial-up in most cases. As of September 2008, according to the Center for Rural Affairs, “Only 38 per- cent of rural Americans have access to a High-Speed Internet connection.” PTCI had the foresight to acquire wireless spectrum when the FCC made it avail- able through auctions, and now plans to use the 700 Mhz it pur- chased to deliver high-speed, 4G wireless service over a new network. This new network is PTCI to Bring 4G LTE Technology to Rural Okla. based on a technology called “Long Term Evolution,” or LTE. PTCI selected the new 4G LTE technology because of costs. The new LTE network speeds promise to be faster than what is available in rural areas today, and more in line with speeds that are available in the towns and cities that PTCI serves. Ron Strecker, CEO of PTCI said, “The prom- ise 4G LTE holds for our rural customers and the positive eco- nomic and lifestyle changes that broadband mobility will bring to our communities is exciting. Our 4G LTE network will serve a twofold purpose — fixed wire- less services in rural homes, as well as mobile broadband.” PTCI has always been a frontrunner in the telecommuni- cation industry, frequently offer- ing advanced technology before larger providers in urban areas such as Oklahoma City and Tulsa. PTCI expects the first de- ployment of its 4G LTE network to take place early in 2012. PTCI (Panhandle Telephone Cooperative, Inc.), along with its wholly owned subsidiary company, Panhandle Telecom- munication Systems, Inc. (PTSI), provides an array of communication services to cus- tomers in the Oklahoma Pan- handle area. Services include state-of-the-art Residential and Business Telephone services with many calling fea- tures, plus long distance service; High-Speed Internet service with help desk; Cellular tele- phone service with nationwide plans, free mobile-to-mobile, and free nights and weekends; Digital Cable TV service with 140+ channels, local net- works, high definition including local networks, DVR, and pause live features. PTCI was established in 1954 and PTSI in 1983. Both are headquar- tered in Guymon, Oklahoma. STILLWATER – Standard & Poor’s (S&P) wanted to see $4 trillion in cuts over the next 10 years in the United States’ budget, but the new debt deal that was signed into law Aug. 2 called for only $2.4 trillion in cuts. It also expressed concern over whether an extremely di- vided Congress could decide on how to implement the spending cuts. As a result, on Aug. 5, S&P took action and announced it was downgrading the United States’ debt from an AAA rat- ing to an AA+ rating. So what does this mean to the general public? Eileen St. Pierre, Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension personal finance spe- cialist, said the public first needs to understand what the credit rating represents. ”A credit rating is essentially a grade that tells investors the probability that the organization, whether it be a government, corporation or nonprofit, issuing the debt will pay it back accord- ing to the terms of the agree- ment,” St. Pierre said. “The higher the credit rating, the lower the probability there is of default. By downgrading U.S. debt, S&P is telling investors that it believes there is an in- creased risk that the U.S. won’t be able to pay its debt on time in the future. The other two major rating agencies, Moody’s and Fitch, have kept the U.S. credit rating at AAA for now but have warned they also may lower it in the future.” The public needs to realize that a rating of AA+ is still a Understanding the U.S. credit downgrade great rating. A credit rating is simi- lar to an individual’s credit score. A person with a credit score of 830 out of 850 would have AAA credit. If this score were to drop to 805, some financial institutions may now consider you to have AA+ credit. St. Pierre said individuals with a credit score of 805 still have a score that is higher than just about everyone else. However, how a financial institution interprets your credit score can be subjective, just like the S&P decision to downgrade U.S. debt. ”If the risk of default in- creases, the interest rate on U.S. debt (Treasury bonds) should in- crease. This means the govern- ment would have to pay more in- terest, which would negate a lot of the spending cuts,” she said. “This would make it harder to reduce the budget deficit. In turn, the interest rates on other finan- cial instruments that use the Trea- sury bond rate as a base, such as mortgages, would go up. This is something that could happen over the long-term.” However, in the short-term, interest rates on Treasury bonds have actually gone down. What we are seeing is what financial experts call “a flight to quality.” St. Pierre said during times of economic uncertainty, inves- tors put their money in invest- ments they know are safe. Cur- rently, investors do not believe there are safer alternatives to U.S. Treasury securities, with the exception of gold. This de- mand raises Treasury prices and keeps their interest rates low. ”The effects of the U.S. credit downgrade and global economic turmoil are being felt in the U.S. stock market,” she said. “It’s been a roller coaster ever since the S&P’s down- grade. Stock prices declined immediately, bounced back, only to fall sharply again. As long as there is economic un- certainty investors better keep their seatbelts on because it’s going to be a bumpy ride.” By Trisha Gedon
Transcript of Understanding the U.S. credit downgrade - … 11, 2011 · (Tarzan, Mars Saga) 1922 Yvonne De Carlo...
Volume 113 No. 22 75 Cents Thursday September 01, 2011P.O. Box 278 •105 W. Main Street • Boise City, Oklahoma 73933-0278 • Cimarron CountyPhone 580-544-2222 • Fax 580-544-3281 • e-mail [email protected]
Visit The Boise City News online at it’s Website at boisecitynews.orgOr it’s new Weblog at boisecitynews2.wordpress.com
BOISE CITY WEATHER Hi Lo rn
Tue. Aug. 23 98 64Wed. Aug. 24 101 64Thurs. Aug. 25 98 62Fri. Aug. 26 100 68Sat. Aug. 27 95 68 .12Sun. Aug. 28 97 68Mon. Aug. 29 90 67 .02MARKETSWheat $8.13Milo $7.34Corn $8.40 (spot prices subject to change)
THIS DAY INMUSIC
BORN ON SEPT. 1
DEATHS-PG. 3DORTHY KOHLER- 84
THIS DAY IN HISTORYSEPT. 1
1866 James “GentlemanJim” Corbett heavyweightchampion boxer (1892-97)1875 Edgar RiceBurroughs novelist(Tarzan, Mars Saga)1922 Yvonne De CarloVancouver BC, actress (10C o m m a n d m e n t s ,Munsters)1923 Rocky Marcianoheavyweight championboxer (1952-56)1933 Conway Twitty[Harold Jenkins], Miss,country singer (HelloDarlin’)
69 Traditional date of thedestruction of Jerusalem1614 Vincent Fettmichexpells Jews from Frank-furt-on-Main, Germany1739 35 Jews sentenced tolife in prison in Lisbon Por-tugal1807 Aaron Burr acquittedof charges of plotting to setup an empire1865 Joseph Lister per-forms 1st antiseptic sur-gery1922 NYC law requires all“pool” rooms to changename to “billards”1941 Yellow star becomesobligatory for Jews in theReich to wear
HAVE YOU SEEN THIS WOMAN???
OKLA. GOV. MARY FALLIN
Many months ago, TheBoise City News, sent Gov.Fallin an e-mail to her officeinforming her that though we
were sure she and the FederalGovernment were helping ourfarmers, that the people ofCimarron County needed tosee her boots on the groundto know she cared. We re-ceived no answer and the Gov-ernor, has yet to visit, (Shemissed two opportunities whilecampaigning.) We offered abounty of $50 for GovernorHenry, but since Ms. Fallincarried the county and she stillhasn’t visited, The Boise CityNews will pay $25 to the per-son that proves to us she’sbeen here as governor.
CIMARRON COUNTYJAIL BLOTTER
1952, Atlantic Recordsbought Ray Charles’ con-tract from SwingtimeRecords, where Charleshad been recording in themellower, bluesy style ofNat King Cole and CharlesBrown.1953, The Texas duo ofBuddy Holly and BobMontgomery auditioned forradio station KDAV’s Sun-day Party. The duo starteda slot on Sunday afternoonthat became known as TheBob and Buddy Show.1956, 19 year old Jerry LeeLewis arrived at SunRecords hoping for an au-dition, only to find thatowner Sam Phillips was onvacation in Florida. JerryLee recorded some demosthat Phillips would hearwhen he returned.
8-24James Winford Maddox-warrant, failure to appear,released on a bond of$12,000.Rakim Jamar Brown- DUS,Speeding, held on a bond of$17,000.
8-26Cole Twombly- Servingtime.Daniel Foster- Possessionof a controlled dangeroussubstance, (Meth), andparaphernalia, bonded out.Duane Foster- Possessionof a controlled dangeroussubstance, (Meth), andparaphernalia, bonded out.
It’s open...Traffic started over the U.S. Highway 287 by-pass onTuesday. The by-pass crosses over U.S. 56/64/412, justeast of Boise City.
WE GONNA CHUNK THE GREATPUNKIN, CHARLIE BROWN
By Deb RebelThe P&T Grower Club has
a very busy fair week, the 13ththrough 17th of September!Come Join Us
Team Inertia, centrifugalflinger Punkin Chunkin team,will be near the CimarronCounty Free Fair; Thursday,Friday, and Saturday after-noons. They’re here to struttheir stuff, tune their machine,and CHUNK. The ScienceChannel will be joining the funThursday, to film for a showcalled “The Road to Chunkin”which will be aired in Octoberin the leadup to the show fea-turing the National PunkinChunkin contest held in earlyNovember and show aired nearThanksgiving.
We look forward to themcoming and chunkin’ for us.However we still need two ad-joining quarter sections to chunkover, preferably next to the fair-grounds and going south to
north. The bottom few acres willget trampled, and the rest will gainsome smashed pumpkin andsome ATV tracks. If you can helpout in this, it would be greatly ap-preciated. The loan of somecattle panels for marking off the‘pit’ area to keep people safe andoff the field would also be mostgreatly appreciated. And last butnot least, we’re short of hands...
This is a great opportunity toshow everyone out there whatBoise City is really like, please helpin boosting our fine city, our greatcounty, and of course, our Fair!
The Tomato Weighoff will beheld Wednesday, September 13thfrom 3-6 pm, at the New FairBuilding. It does not have to beripe. It does not have to be per-fect. You do not have to be acounty resident to enter the con-test. First prize senior division,$500! ($500/250/100/75/50/25/20/15/10/5)
and Junior Division $100 ($50EE savings bond and $50 cash)
($50-50/50/25/10/5) Junior mustbe under 15 as of the day ofthe weigh off.
The Five State CimarronWeigh off for Giant Pumpkinsand Giant Squash will be heldin the Arena, Saturday Septem-ber 17, from 9 a.m. to when-ever we’re done. These are thebig ones that fill the backend ofa pickup and need a forklift. Wewill be even more honored tohave an officer of the GPC(Great Pumpkin Common-wealth) attending this year, thisis the sanctioning authority whosupplies the rules and regula-tions we follow. If you remem-ber the big pumpkins on a trailerat the fair and on north Ellis;these should be even bigger.
Don’t forget, there are anumber of additional premiumsoffered for fair entries by theP&T Grower’s Club. Checkthe fair books for the classesand amounts. Come to the Fair,we’re going to have a blast!
The Oklahoma State andEducation Employees GroupInsurance Board (OSEEGIB)has adopted premium rates forits HealthChoice health, dental,life, and disability insuranceplans. The Board action tookplace at its August 19 meetingand will be effective for the 2012Plan Year.
The adopted premiums forthe High Option health plan rep-resent an overall decrease of.4% over current rates. For 2012,the Board voted to use $39 mil-lion in reserve dollars that areavailable as a result of lowerthan expected claims costs overthe past two years. The use ofreserve dollars will off-set theprojected 5% increase in claimcost that was announced duringthe July meeting. The most sig-nificant premium savings wereseen in the spouse rate whichexperienced a 2% decrease.Also, for the 2012 Plan Year,HealthChoice health plans willbe adopting additional screening,prevention, and treatment ser-vices that will be available withno cost sharing to members.
Board Chairman RichardWomack said, “Although healthcare costs continue to increase,the Board is pleased that reservedollars were sufficient to helpstabilize premiums. While wewere able to eliminate and mini-mize increases for 2012, theBoard’s consulting actuary pro-jected a 5% increase in total plancosts. We need to be mindfulthat we are not immune fromthese cost increases and planreserves may not always beavailable to off-set premiums,”he said. “Both the projected in-crease for 2012, along with anyprojected increases for 2013,based on the upward trend inhealthcare costs, will be factorsin setting premiums for the 2013Plan Year,” Mr. Womackadded.
“In the past five years, pre-miums for the HealthChoiceplans have increased an aver-age of 4.5% which is about halfof the national average of ap-proximately 10%,” stated FrankWilson, plan administrator. Ad-ditionally, Mr. Wilson said, “Asa self-funded plan,HealthChoice rates are a directreflection of plan claims costswith more than 95% of all pre-mium dollars paid out in mem-ber claims.”
In addition to using plan re-serves to off-set premiums, theBoard approved other planchanges designed to reduce plancosts. Beginning January 1,
OSEEGIB Adopts Rates for 2012Plan Reserves Used to StabilizePremiums and Limit Increases
HealthChoice plans will make amail-order pharmacy programfor maintenance medicationsavailable to all pre-Medicaremembers. Maintenance medica-tions are prescriptions that areusually taken on a daily basis andinclude drugs used to treat high-blood pressure, diabetes, highcholesterol, heart conditions, etc.By adopting a mail-order phar-macy program, it is estimated theplan will save about $9 million inprescription drug costs.
Another significant changefor 2012 is the introduction oftwo new plans, theHealthChoice High Alternativeand HealthChoice Basic Alter-native. These new plans arespecifically designed for mem-bers and their dependents thatuse tobacco. Mr. Wilson stated,“Health conditions related to theuse of tobacco cost theHealthChoice plans and ourmembers approximately $52million annually. While the pre-miums for the new alternativeplans will be the same as ourstandard High Option and Ba-sic plans, the annual deductiblesand out-of-pocket limits willeach increase by $250,” he said.
After applying the premiumsubsidy, HealthChoice BasicPlan rates for 2012 will experi-ence an average overall pre-mium decrease of about 1%.
Premiums for theHealthChoice MedicareSupplement Plans With Part Dwere projected to increase bynearly 14%; however, after ap-plying the premium subsidy, theincrease was capped at about8%. Similarly, the premiums forthe Medicare supplement planswithout Part D were projectedto increase by approximately11%; but with the application ofthe premium subsidy, the pre-mium increase was limited toaround 5.6%.
2012 premiums for theHealthChoice Dental Plan willincrease by just more than 1%,while premiums for theHealthChoice Disability Plan willremain unchanged. Premiumsfor the HealthChoice Life Insur-ance Plan will decrease slightly.
The 2012 premium rateswere calculated by the Board’sactuary, AON Hewitt, based onactual HealthChoice claims ex-perience data for the past 24months.
OSEEGIB provides health,dental, life, and disability insur-ance to governmental and edu-cation employees, retirees, anddependents.
I have old coins and bills forsale.
Lots of Wheat pennies, andother miscellaneous coins, plussome $2 bills. Call me at 544-3150
The Boise City BoosterClub will meet the firstWednesday of every month at6 p.m. at Dairy Queen. Weencourage everyone to come
out and help us support the‘Cats and Lady ‘Cats thisyear!!
A TIP OF THE HAT TO:
ATTENTION!!
Jessie Shannonand the guys atBoise City Co-
Op for their efforts to cleanup the area.
For most Americans, havingaccess to a High-SpeedInternet connection has becomeas much of a necessity as hav-ing access to telephone serviceor electricity. However, a largeportion of the United States isstill denied access to this essen-tial source of fast-moving infor-mation, education, and com-merce. Although most metro-politan areas are covered wellwith DSL, cable, and fiber op-tics, rural areas are limited tosatellite Internet or dial-up inmost cases. As of September2008, according to the Centerfor Rural Affairs, “Only 38 per-cent of rural Americans haveaccess to a High-SpeedInternet connection.”
PTCI had the foresight toacquire wireless spectrumwhen the FCC made it avail-able through auctions, and nowplans to use the 700 Mhz it pur-chased to deliver high-speed,4G wireless service over a newnetwork. This new network is
PTCI to Bring 4G LTE Technology to Rural Okla.based on a technology called“Long Term Evolution,” or LTE.PTCI selected the new 4G LTEtechnology because of costs.
The new LTE network speedspromise to be faster than what isavailable in rural areas today, andmore in line with speeds that areavailable in the towns and citiesthat PTCI serves. Ron Strecker,CEO of PTCI said, “The prom-ise 4G LTE holds for our ruralcustomers and the positive eco-nomic and lifestyle changes thatbroadband mobility will bring toour communities is exciting. Our4G LTE network will serve atwofold purpose — fixed wire-less services in rural homes, aswell as mobile broadband.”
PTCI has always been afrontrunner in the telecommuni-cation industry, frequently offer-ing advanced technology beforelarger providers in urban areassuch as Oklahoma City andTulsa. PTCI expects the first de-ployment of its 4G LTE network
to take place early in 2012.PTCI (Panhandle Telephone
Cooperative, Inc.), along withits wholly owned subsidiarycompany, Panhandle Telecom-munication Systems, Inc.(PTSI), provides an array ofcommunication services to cus-tomers in the Oklahoma Pan-handle area. Services includestate-of-the-art Residentialand Business Telephoneservices with many calling fea-tures, plus long distance service;High-Speed Internet servicewith help desk; Cellular tele-phone service with nationwideplans, free mobile-to-mobile,and free nights and weekends; Digital Cable TV servicewith 140+ channels, local net-works, high definition includinglocal networks, DVR, andpause live features. PTCI wasestablished in 1954 and PTSIin 1983. Both are headquar-tered in Guymon, Oklahoma.
STILLWATER – Standard& Poor’s (S&P) wanted to see$4 trillion in cuts over the next10 years in the United States’budget, but the new debt dealthat was signed into law Aug. 2called for only $2.4 trillion incuts. It also expressed concernover whether an extremely di-vided Congress could decide onhow to implement the spendingcuts.
As a result, on Aug. 5, S&Ptook action and announced itwas downgrading the UnitedStates’ debt from an AAA rat-ing to an AA+ rating. So whatdoes this mean to the generalpublic?
Eileen St. Pierre, OklahomaState University CooperativeExtension personal finance spe-cialist, said the public first needsto understand what the creditrating represents.
”A credit rating is essentiallya grade that tells investors theprobability that the organization,whether it be a government,corporation or nonprofit, issuingthe debt will pay it back accord-ing to the terms of the agree-ment,” St. Pierre said. “Thehigher the credit rating, thelower the probability there is ofdefault. By downgrading U.S.debt, S&P is telling investorsthat it believes there is an in-creased risk that the U.S.won’t be able to pay its debt ontime in the future. The other twomajor rating agencies, Moody’sand Fitch, have kept the U.S.credit rating at AAA for nowbut have warned they also maylower it in the future.”
The public needs to realizethat a rating of AA+ is still a
Understanding the U.S. credit downgradegreat rating. A credit rating is simi-lar to an individual’s credit score.A person with a credit score of830 out of 850 would have AAAcredit. If this score were to dropto 805, some financial institutionsmay now consider you to haveAA+ credit.
St. Pierre said individuals witha credit score of 805 still have ascore that is higher than just abouteveryone else. However, how afinancial institution interprets yourcredit score can be subjective,just like the S&P decision todowngrade U.S. debt.
”If the risk of default in-creases, the interest rate on U.S.debt (Treasury bonds) should in-crease. This means the govern-ment would have to pay more in-terest, which would negate a lotof the spending cuts,” she said.“This would make it harder toreduce the budget deficit. In turn,the interest rates on other finan-cial instruments that use the Trea-sury bond rate as a base, such asmortgages, would go up. This issomething that could happen overthe long-term.”
However, in the short-term,interest rates on Treasury bondshave actually gone down. Whatwe are seeing is what financialexperts call “a flight to quality.”
St. Pierre said during timesof economic uncertainty, inves-tors put their money in invest-ments they know are safe. Cur-rently, investors do not believethere are safer alternatives toU.S. Treasury securities, withthe exception of gold. This de-mand raises Treasury pricesand keeps their interest rateslow.
”The effects of the U.S.credit downgrade and globaleconomic turmoil are being feltin the U.S. stock market,” shesaid. “It’s been a roller coasterever since the S&P’s down-grade. Stock prices declinedimmediately, bounced back,only to fall sharply again. Aslong as there is economic un-certainty investors better keeptheir seatbelts on because it’sgoing to be a bumpy ride.”
By Trisha Gedon
