Loan

HARRODSBURG - James B. Haggin Memorial Hospital plans to borrow $315,000 from an agency that serves all 120 Kentucky counties. Earl Motzer, president and CEO of Haggin, told members of Mercer County Fiscal Court that the money will go toward the purchase of new radiographic and fluoroscopic equipment for the hospital. He said the hospital board chose to borrow the money from the Kentucky Association of Counties because the agency offered the lowest interest rate. Motzer said using KACo will save the hospital about $15,000 in interest payments compared to other lending agencies surveyed by the hospital.

The Winchester Board of Commissioners accepted a measure Tuesday to compensate for a nearly $1 million funding gap on Winchester Municipal Utilities' loan for its new wastewater treatment plant. Commissioners approved a new payment plan that allows the city to defer $480,000 of principal payments on the $21 million loan, with smaller payments over the course of 30 months between December 2010 and December 2012. The funding gap came to light earlier this year during an annual audit of the city's finances, when officials discovered that the city would be responsible for two principal payments totaling more than $960,000.

WINCHESTER - USDA Rural Development offers housing loans to low and very low-income applicants in Bourbon, Clark, Montgomery and Powell Counties. Under this home ownership program, loans can be made up to 100 percent of the appraised value for a 33-year term, and the interest rate can be subsidized (lowered) to 1 percent, if an applicant qualifies. These loans are made to individuals who are unable to obtain credit elsewhere. Even with minor credit blemishes, USDA Rural Development may be able to help.

Sharon Geiger of Moreland likes to help others whether it's in the military or on the homefront. "As a supply officer, I make sure I can help in anyway," said Geiger, who just returned from a six-month tour with the Navy Reserves Seabees unit in Iraq. At home, she's a loan officer trying to help people get financing they need. Geiger works for Kentucky Fidelity Mortgage in Danville and is a five-year veteran of the Naval Regiment Command in Lexington and Knoxville, Tenn.

Dear Dave, My wife is a doctor, makes $120,000 annually and she has $123,000 in student loans. About $86,000 of this amount are Stafford Loans on a variable rate. We were looking at having this paid off in six years. Recently, she was offered a fixed rate on these loans. Our combined income is about $180,000. What do you think? Craig Dear Craig, There's nothing wrong with doing that, as long as the fixed rate is locked in, and the company doesn't extend the terms on you. But I wouldn't wait six years to have this thing out of my life.

Daniel Loane figured a vacation could wait, but his final baseball season wouldn't. Loane took a pass on a preseason trip that would have taken him out of practice for a few days and probably would have caused him to miss the first game of his final season at Burgin. Instead, he spent his down time taking batting practice, working to improve on a successful 2006 season and working toward what he hopes will be an extended future in baseball. "I was going to go on vacation and probably miss the first game, but I decided not to, and I probably hit a thousand balls that week," he said.

Dear Dave, In an attempt to improve my credit I recently bought a new car which I financed at 17.9 percent for 72 months. If I make the minimum payment of $468 a month, I'll end up paying about $13,000 in interest alone. Is there a formula I can use to avoid paying all this interest? Marcus Dear Marcus, Yes, there is a formula that will keep you from paying all that interest. Sell the stinking car. Your credit is lousy because you haven't paid your bills. And you haven't paid your bills because you bought a bunch of stuff you couldn't afford ?

City officials have developed a payment plan that could help cope with a nearly $1 million funding gap on Winchester Municipal Utilities' loan for its new wastewater treatment plant. The proposal, which will be presented to the Kentucky Infrastructure Authority next month, asks the agency to defer about $480,000 of principal payments on its $21 million loan to avoid city budget deficits in 2008 and 2009. In exchange, the city will agree to pay the deferred amount in annual payments of $96,000 over the course of five years.

Citi Financial has now opened a branch in Nicholasville at 137 Orchard Drive behind Wendy's. The company is a member of Citigroup, the world's largest financial services provider, with more than 2,000 offices throughout the United States and Canada. Citi Financial offers consumer loans for many purposes, including bill consolidation, home equity loans, refinancing, home improvement, credit card debt consolidation and unexpected expenses. Bobby Davis, manager of the local branch, and a Nicholasville resident, said that he is glad that Citi Financial opened an office in Jessamine County.

USDA Farm Service Agency reserves funds each year to make loans to socially disadvantaged applicants to buy and operate family-sized farms. A socially disadvantaged farmer is one of a group whose members have been subjected to racial, ethnic or gender prejudice because of their identity as members of the group without regard to their individual qualities. For the purposes of this program, socially disadvantaged groups have been defined as women, African Americans, American Indians, Alaskan natives, Hispanics, Asians and Pacific Islanders.