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Circle ofSafety ™
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™
Your Consumer Awareness Advisor

142 Main St, Oakland, IA 51560, Phone: 712-482-6424 ● 114 Broadway, Carson, IA 51525, Phone: 712-484-2240

Squaring Up To IN THIS ISSUE: ▪ Natural Disaster

Precautions ▪ Beware Tourist
Protecting Yourself Tricksters ▪ Are Credit Unions For
Nature from Natural Disasters You? ▪ Bathroom Safety Tips ▪ Take
Good Care of Your Summer Lawn
We watch with a mixture of sympathy and trepidation
when a natural disaster hits the headlines. Whether it's
an earthquake, flood, wildfire, hurricane or tornado, most
of us have two things on our minds: VACATION ALERT FOR
• What can I do to help? TOURIST TRICKSTERS
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• What would I do if this happened to me? So you're busy planning your summer
The help side of the equation depends on the nature of vacation? Someone else is thinking about
the incident and you can usually get information on this that too – tourist tricksters. These are the
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from major charities like the Red Cross.
When it comes to protecting yourself against disaster,
there are three issues you need to address: precaution,
insurance and recovery.
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people you encounter in airports, taxi lines
and on the sidewalk, who want to take
advantage of your unfamiliarity, especially
abroad. Here's our list of tips and alerts:
• Beware distraction crime. Someone,

Precaution maybe a child, tries to distract you

while an accomplice steals wallets or
You can't tame nature to prevent a disaster from luggage. Ignore them and hold tight.
happening but there are things you can do to minimize
• If you're being met at an airport, check
both the risks and the impact. Here's our Top Five list:
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the credentials of your driver to make

1. Establish if you're in a risk zone for any of these sure they're who they say they are. If in
events. Your city or county authorities can tell you. doubt, don't go. Phone the hotel or
party you're visiting.
2. Using their guidance and online research, have a
• Similarly, only use taxis at official taxi
family safety plan for what to do in emergency.
ranks. And always establish the fare
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3. Do anything you can now to reduce risks, from before you leave.
clearing brush to securing structures. • Change currency before you travel, or
in banks or well-known bureaux de
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4. Buy and maintain a supply of the things you'll need

from food through flashlights to sandbags.
5. Be alert to warnings about imminent high risk events.
Insurance
The recent big earthquakes in Haiti and Chile may have
prompted you to think about 'quake or other disaster
insurance. Cover for fire and storm damage is normally
Neew
change. Others may offer poor rates or
terms loaded with hidden extras.
• Avoid invitations to free events and
don’t accept free scratch cards (which
always 'win'). They're timeshare lures.
• Don’t buy off anyone on the street, no
matter how great a bargain it seems.
Bottom line: Always be skeptical. Never

part of a homeowners policy. For 'quakes and floods,

cover is available in many areas but obviously the take the word of someone you don't know.
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greater the risk, the higher premiums may be. Some

states and even the Federal Government may provide
support towards cover for certain risks.
2 Why It's Worth Taking An
Interest In Credit Unions
Bah, humbug! You don’t have to be a Scrooge to be careful with your
money. Whether you're borrowing or saving, you owe it to yourself and
your family to be cautious about cash.
That may be why, according to latest figures, membership and funds
are climbing at the 7,500-plus community- or work-based financial
institutions we call credit unions (CUs).
Many people think they're the same as banks, but they're not. For a
start, they're owned by their members – mainly customers (savers and
borrowers) – not by stockholders. So they don’t have to make a profit; Squaring up …
and if they do have a surplus, it goes back to the members. (from Page 1)
This means that, on average, interest rates are higher than the banks' This would most likely fall under
for savers, and lower for borrowers. the “riot and civil commotion”
portion of your homeowners
To learn more about credit unions, visit: policy, regardless of whether or
http://www.ncua.gov/ not you have 'quake or other
To find a CU in your area, go to: special cover. A disaster isn’t the
ttp://www.creditunion.coop/cu_locator/quickfind.php trigger for the coverage; the
looting is. Talk to us about this.
Recovery
Credit unions have been around since the 1930s and there was a time
when they were regarded as rather stuffy old-fashioned organizations, How quickly you start to get back
difficult to join and offering only limited services. That's no longer true. to normal depends on the scale
of the incident and availability of
Virtually anyone can join a credit union, as long as they live or work in services to help you.
the area where it's based (or work for an organization or industry that
has its own CU). And because of this relationship, they are seen very Obviously, if you're insured, you
much as part of the communities they serve. should contact us or your insurer
as soon as possible, to file a
Most of them offer the key services we expect to find at a bank – claim.
including savings and money market accounts and CDs; auto loans
and mortgages; checking accounts and access to ATMs nationwide We hope you have arranged
and even abroad. Many also issue their own credit cards, including cover, but if you haven't you may
some that offer points or rewards. have to draw on your own funds,
or look to state or federal aid if a
One important way in which they are similar to banks is in protecting State of Emergency has been
savers' deposits. Bank deposits up to $250,000 are covered by the declared.
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). With CUs, the National
Credit Union Share Insurance Fund backs deposits to the same level. There are private companies
specializing in disaster recovery
Credit unions may not be suitable for everyone, and we can't advise and home restoration and, of
you on that. But at least now you know they're worth looking into! course, builders and contractors
for structural and service repairs.
It's a wise move to indentify
Make Sure the Smallest Room is Also the Safest these people now as there would
It may be the smallest room in the house, but the bathroom is big on likely be a long waiting list if the
danger, especially for the elderly and youngsters. There are water, incident was widespread.
electricity, sharp corners, internal locks and perhaps drugs, all lying
FEMA
in wait for victims. But a few simple precautions will defeat them:
One of the best sources of
• Keep a non-slip mat in the bath and shower (and on the bathroom
information on dealing with a
floor if it's polished or slippery)
natural disaster is the Federal
• Only plug in electrical items when you use them. Then remove Emergency Management
and replace with plastic outlet protectors. Agency (FEMA).
• Keep all drugs under lock and key and always out of kids' reach. Despite some bad publicity after
• Install grab bars beside the bath and inside shower enclosures. Katrina, the agency offers lots of
• Ensure towel rails are firmly fitted. Check them regularly information and assistance both
in preparation for and during
• Fit door locks that can be opened from the outside in emergency. incidents.
 Heat Stroke: A Dangerous 3
Summer Illness
Each year in the United States
hundreds of people die of heat
stroke and many more are
WIN! WIN! WIN!
hospitalized. Heat stroke is the
This month Hummel Insurance Services is sponsoring a Trivia
number one summer illness and
it’s completely preventable. Contest and offering you a chance to win 5 Scratch-off Lottery
Heat stroke occurs when your Tickets. Test your knowledge! Answer the question below and you
internal cooling system stops could be this month’s winner. The entry that comes closest to the
working and your body correct answer to the following question will be the winner. If more
temperature rises. This can than one person has the exact answer, the winner will be the person
potentially cause brain damage, whose entry reached our office first. Write down your name and
damage to internal organs, and answer, and then fax – 712-482-3218 -- or mail – PO Box 579,
even death.
Oakland, IA 51560 this page -- or email your name and answer to
Heat stroke can happen very info@hummelins.com--. Good luck!
suddenly; often without other
symptoms. If you or someone
you know is experiencing the Which famous US military leader and politician had a
symptoms of heat stroke don’t
delay: obtain medical care
half-brother nicknamed Austin. And what was
immediately. Austin’s real name?
The primary treatment for heat
exhaustion is replacement of
Your Name: _________________________________________
lost fluids and salt. Victims
should move to a cool
environment, lie flat or with feet Address or Contact Details:______________________________
raised slightly above head level,
and sip a cool, slightly salty ____________________________________________________
beverage -- such as a salty sports
drink or plain drinking water with ____________________________________________________
salt added (one level teaspoon of
salt per quart of water).Turn down Your Answer:_________________________________________
the thermostat and open a
window. Warm humid air can
____________________________________________________
cause mold and mildew to grow
unseen inside your home. Fresh
air and cooler temps can help ____________________________________________________
reduce this problem in most
areas.

Prevention is the key

The best defense against heat
stroke and other heat related
illnesses is prevention.
Heat injuries can be prevented
simply by good hydration and
Tell Others About Us and Win a Prize
common sense. Drink plenty of Who will be our next Client of the Month? Could it be you?
fluids before and during exercise Referrals are the lifeblood of any business, and there’s no better
or sports. Water is all you need
source than you, our clients.
for moderate exercise in the
summer, but if you plan on
exercising or playing sports for Just mention Hummel Insurance Services to a friend, relative, or
more than an hour a sports drink colleague and have them give us a call at 712-482-6424 or toll-free at
with electrolytes is best.
Take care when spending time 800-482-6426. Don't forget to tell them to use your name, so we can
outdoors in the hot sun so enter you for our prize draw! Thank you in advance.
everyone has a great summer.
 Hummel Insurance Services
PO Box 579
4
142 Main St
Oakland, IA 51560-0579

Craig Hummel’s
Circle of Safety™
Your Consumer Awareness Advisor ™

To:

IT'S A FACT: Summer Solstice (June 21), which we sometimes call Midsummer’s Day, was actually
considered New Year’s Day by the ancient Egyptians.

To green or not too green – that is the question

Lawns can be a headache and a heartache at this time of year. To fertilize or not? To water or not? How close
to mow? How to control weeds? Answering these questions has become something of a science. And, on the
basis that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, it turns out that, when it comes to lawn care, we tend to do
all the wrong things: fertilizing too little or too much or at the wrong time, over-watering, and cutting things just
a bit too close. Here's what the experts say:
• General Health: A healthy lawn should be deep the season. Follow the application recommend-
green and blades should bounce back up when ations. Exceeding the "recommended dose"
you walk on them. Rake the lawn to remove either in volume or frequency will damage, not
"thatch" before starting any other treatment. help, growth. Consider organic fertilizers –
Aerate the lawn to improve drainage. You can usually more expensive but less harmful when
hire mechanical equipment for both tasks. they drain off.
• Watering: If you're starting from scratch, plant • Mowing: The longer you let your grass grow, the
grass that's especially suited to your area. How healthier its roots. Longer blades also help retain
frequently you water obviously depends on the moisture. A good target is 1-1/2 inches. If you've
weather, so make sure you can manually been away and the grass is high, don't lop it off
override your sprinkler system, to switch it off in one mowing; set your blade to high and mow it
when it rains. Otherwise, provide an inch of twice, a few days apart.
water a week, more when it's really hot. Measure • Weeds: You can buy fertilizers than control a
and check by placing a jar on the lawn to collect wide variety of lawn weeds but if you only have a
water when the sprinklers are on. few weeds, this might be overkill, as well as
• Fertilizing: The value of fertilizing is in hurting the environment via drainage. Spot
establishing strong root systems for your grass. weed-killing, though time consuming, may be
Choose fertilizers that are specially blended for more considerate.

Something to smile about : Like a welcome summer rain, humor may suddenly cleanse
and cool the earth, the air and you (Langston Hughes, poet and playwright)