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HONORED: Assure America Corp., which has offices around the Tri-State Area, has been named an Erie Insurance 2017 Elite Award winner for achieving growth and profitability goals.
The Erie Insurance Elite Award recognizes the top 10 Erie agents companywide in one of three lines of business -- personal lines, commercial and life. Assure America won its Elite Award for personal lines.
Assure America offers a full line of property and casualty insurance products, including auto and homeowners insurance, as well as commercial and life insurance.
Assure America was founded in 1920 with the mission to protect clients from the financial consequences of an accidental loss. Education is a key component of Assure America's operating strategy, according to officials, and the company represents more than 10,000 policyholders.
As an independent insurance agency, Assure America underwrites insurance in nine states with locations in Chester, Steubenville, Pittsburgh, Weirton and Wellsburg, as well as Louisville, Ky. For information, visit assureamerica.com.
WORKSHOP: The West Virginia Small Business Development Center will offer a business fundamentals workshop from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Feb. 15 at West Virginia Northern Community College.
Led by Ed Powell, the session will cover getting a business license, identifying the market and writing a business plan that will build credibility with potential lenders.
The cost is $35. To register, visit www.wvsbdc.com and click on "training calendar," or contact business coach Donna Schramm at (304) 214-8973 or Donna.L.Schramm@wv.gov.
The workshop is part of the center's Three Start Jump program, which involves one-to-one meetings with its business coaches.
RATES RISE: Long-term U.S. mortgage rates rose for the fourth straight week as lending standards continue to tighten. The rates on 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages and five-year adjustable-rate mortgages hit the highest level since 2011.
Mortgage giant Freddie Mac says the rate on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 4.22 percent this week, highest since March and up from 4.15 percent a week earlier. They stood at 4.19 a year ago. The rate on 15-year, fixed-rate loans, popular among homeowners who refinance, rose to 3.68 percent this week, highest since July 2011 and up from 3.62 percent last week and 3.41 percent a year ago.
The five-year, adjustable rate rose to 3.53 percent from 3.52 percent last week and the highest since April 2011.
Rates are rising as the Federal Reserve attempts to control inflation amid signs of economic strength. The Fed is widely expected to raise short-term rates when it gathers again in March, though it held off at its meeting this week. The Fed raised rates three times in 2017.
CLEANUP: The Environmental Protection Agency has announced a $236 million plan to clean up a suburban St. Louis landfill where Cold War-era nuclear waste was illegally dumped decades ago.
The EPA said Thursday the plan calls for removing all of the radioactive contamination that poses a health risk by partially excavating the West Lake Landfill in Bridgeton. Crews will also install a permanent "engineered cover system" at the site.
The site was added to the Superfund list in 1990. The area is especially concerning to nearby residents because it sits next to another landfill where an underground fire smolders. State and federal officials have downplayed the risk that the smoldering could reach the radioactive material.
Republic Services owns the landfill. The company is among three entities responsible for the cleanup cost.
From staff and AP reports