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Show Page 16 THE OGDEN VALLEY NEWS Volume II, Issue IX 1 May 2000 ARMCHAIR ARMOR What Do You Know About Shopping Safely from Home? Take this simple test to see how much you know about shopping safely online. When you shop online, you’re anonymous. FALSE—Many web sellers want to know about you and your buying habits so they can share or sell the information. Your best protection is to shop only form vendors that post their privacy policies online and offer you options about the use of your personal information. A credit card is the safest way to pay for your at-home purchases. TRUE—Paying by credit card offers you protections you don’t get when you pay with cash, checks, money orders or debit cards. Credit cards give you the best recourse if you never receive the order, or the products or services were misrepresented, and your liability is limited to $50 if your card or credit card number is used without your permission. Shipping and handling fees are always included in the base price of an item. FALSE—Many vendors add these fees to the price of an item based on where the order is to be shipped or the cost or weight of the goods. To determine the actual cost of the item you’re buying, it’s important to factor in these added fees. Sellers are always required to ship your merchandise no more than 30 days after the order date. FALSE— The law requires sellers to ship items by the time they promise, or, if no delivery time is stated, within 30 days after the order date. If the seller can’t ship the goods within the stated time frame or 30-day deadline, the seller must notify you, give you a chance to cancel your order and send a full refund if you’ve chosen to cancel. A company with a fancy Internet home page is unlikely to be fraudulent. FALSE—The explosion in computer technology means that anyone—even a con artist—can easily set up an impressive-looking web site. If you’ve never heard of the company you’re ordering from, it’s a smart move to get more information before placing an order. If you don’t specify a delivery method, a vendor will always ship your order the least expensive way. FALSE—Buyers can generally choose to have their orders shipped by standard-ground, two-day or overnight delivery, at various costs. If you don’t specify which you want, you may end up paying more than you intended for shipping. Shopping from a reputable company is one of your best protections against fraud. TRUE—Before ordering from an unfamiliar seller, it’s a good idea to make sure it’s legitimate. Friends who have dealt with the company, your local consumer protection office, the state Attorney General’s office and the Better Business Bureau are possible sources of information. If in doubt, it’s best to stick with a company you know. When providing a password to order online, it’s wise to use the same one you use to access your computer or network. FALSE—Your safest bet is to choose an entirely different pass- word. And it’s a good practice to choose a different password every time to register with a new site. When you order on a secure browser, the information can’t be intercepted and read by others. TRUE—A secure browser, symbolized by a locked key or padlock symbol on the browser window, means that your information is encrypted for safe online transmission. An escrow service offers protections when buying through an online auction. TRUE—Although these services generally charge a fee, they can help keep you from ending up emptyhanded after you’ve paid your money. Tele-marketers are unlikely to try to defraud a consumer who’s already been scammed. FALSE—Con artists often put together “sucker lists” of people who’ve already lost money through fraudulent promotions or merchandise sales. These lists are frequently sold to other con artists. Tele-marketers are unable to provide consumers with written information about their products or services. FALSE—Reputable companies almost always have details about what they’re selling to send to consumers on request. Reputable door-to-door salespeople generally carry identification about themselves and their product. TRUE—Identification doesn’t necessarily mean a seller is bona fide, but lack of identification is almost a sure sign that a seller isn’t. Your best protection is to tell anyone who can’t provide it to leave. You have three days to cancel any order. FALSE—By law, you have the right to cancel any door-to-door purchase of a $25 or more within three days. But you don’t have an automatic three-day cancellation right for mail, telephone or online orders. Check with your state consumer agency to find out if you have this right under state law. Note: This information provided courtesy of the Weber County Extension Agency. BOR cont. from Page 14 2 to 3 years after construction. What will the final condition of the borrow site located 2.5 miles north of the dam? Reclamation is committed to recontouring and reseeding this area after construction activities. What are the impacts to the US Forest Service concessionaire? Reduced recreation would likely affect concessionaire business during the 2002 construction period. Can a traffic control device be at the intersection Highway 39 and 100 North Street in Huntsville? Reclamation will coordinate with the Utah Department of Transportation to ensure safe traffic conditions during construction activities. Will the reservoir releases during construction activities increase sedimentation and erosion below the dam? Releases from the dam will be within standard operating parameters and are not expected to increase negative effects to the river downstream. Draw down of the reservoir will not be to a level where sediment would be released downstream of the dam. Also, best management practices will be implemented during construction to minimize the effect on water quality from construction. The economic impact on agriculture during the construction period is incorrectly shown as zero in Table 3.5 and 3.6 In tables 3.4, 3.5, and 3.6, the anticipated effect on agriculture is divided into two parts. These are listed in the tables under “Water Supply— Irrigation” and “Agriculture.” Water Supply-Irrigation This line in each of the tables contains the effect of the loss of Pineview irrigation water. The loss of this water will largely affect only farmers and ranchers downstream from Pineview Dam and Reservoir—those along the Wasatch Front. The incremental benefit to agriculture which is attributable to the irrigation water provided by Pineview is estimated to total $2.2 million per year. As a result, the effect of the loss of irrigation water is estimated to be: $31.8 million under the No Action Alternative; $3.1 million under the Proposed Action Alternative; and %5.0 million under the Staged Construction Alternative. Agriculture This line in each of the tables contains the anticipated effect of each alternative on agriculture in Ogden Valley. Because Pineview Reservoir does not provide significant irrigation to the Valley, the effect is anticipated to be minimal. There will be some increased costs associated with traffic disruption but these have been included in the transportation effects. Loss of irrigation water during the construction period “will most likely accelerate the permanent conversion of prime farm land from agriculture production to urban development.” Along the Wasatch Front, the transformation of farmland into suburbs has been proceeding at an accelerated pace for many years. That transformation is the result of a variety of causes—all of which have greater impact than the temporary loss of agriculture for farmers in a limited segment of the region. Even among farmers who do receive irrigation water from Pineview Reservoir, it is unlikely that the loss of supplemental irrigation water during the construction periods would be the point on which their decision to continue farming would turn. It is important to note that the decision to leave agriculture and sell one’s farm to developers requires a complex analysis involving many economic and social factors. The availability of irrigation water is only one of these and it is likely to be overwhelmed by the effect of other factors (i.e., land prices, agricultural prices, the concentration of farms in the surrounding area, the number of years until retirement, the family’ desire to maintain an agricultural lifestyle, the length of time the farm has been in the family, etc.). The loss of recreation business during the construction period will affect the Town of Huntsville’s tax base and “greatly affect the ability of the town to provide its services to the town citizens. Much of this effect comes from decreased business at the South Fork Village, a small commercial development.” South Fork Village is a small commercial development containing a recreation outlet, a gas station, a hardware store, and a feed store. The loss of Pineview recreationists may have an effect on the recreation outlet, although there are other forms of recreation in the Valley that would form a business BOR cont. on Page 18 WE N OW H C R MA NGS I SAV IMPORT CARS 175/70R-13 185/70R-13 195/70R-14 205/70R-14 4 4 4 4 FOR FOR FOR FOR $99 $99 $99 $99 PERFORMANCE RADIALS P185/60R-14 P195/60R-14 P195/60R-15 P205/60R-15 P215/60R-15 4 4 4 4 4 FOR FOR FOR FOR FOR $160 $160 $160 $160 $160 DOMESTIC CARS P155/80R-13 P165/80R-13 P175/80R-13 P185/75R-14 P195/75R-14 P205/75R-14 P205/75R-15 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 FOR FOR FOR FOR FOR FOR FOR $99 $99 $99 $99 $99 $99 $99 LIGHT TRUCK P215/75R-15 P235/75R-15 LT235/75R-15 31/10.50R-15 LT265/75R-16 LT235/85R-16 $49.95 $49.95 $49.95 $64.95 $64.95 $78.95 ACC EPT: CRE D AYS IT CAR D SAM E AS S CA 90 D SH TRUCK SPECIALS $10OFF $10OFF ANY ANY THRUST OR 4-WHEEL THRUST OR 4-WHEEL Most Vehicles. Not valid with any other special. Participating stores only. Expires 5/31/00 Most Vehicles. Not valid with any other special. Participating stores only. Expires 5/31/00 ALIGNMENT ALIGNMENT No Carry Outs. Pricing Exludes Mount and Balance. |