Online Privacy and Child-Protection Policy

This is the World Wide Web site of The Winchester Star, 2 N. Kent St., Winchester, VA 22601.   The Winchester Star can be reached by e-mail at news@winchesterstar.com and by telephone at (540) 667-3200.

This site does not target children under the age of 13 and does not collect personal information about individuals except when specifically and knowingly provided by such individuals. Currently, the site collects information (e.g., name, title, employer, mailing address, telephone number, fax number, e-mail address, and payment information) voluntarily provided by individuals who register for The Winchester Star events or purchase The Winchester Star products online. The Winchester Star uses this information to process online requests.

Prior parental consent may be required before a child can submit personal information. For purposes of this policy, a child is anyone under the age of 13. A parent can consent to the collection and use of a child's personal information (e.g., name, e-mail address) without consenting to disclosure of that same information to third parties. A child's participation in any activity offered on this Web site cannot be conditioned on the disclosure of more personal information than reasonably is necessary to participate. In addition, a parent has a right to review and have deleted any personal information submitted by a child, and can refuse to permit further collection or use of the child's information by contacting the The Winchester Star through the postal mail address, e-mail address, or telephone number shown above and requesting review or deletion of information submitted by a child to the Web site.

Prior parental consent is not required for the The Winchester Star to accept personal information from a child for the sole purpose of directly responding on a one-time basis to a specific online request. Any contact information obtained from a child in response to such a one-time request will be deleted from the Winchester Star's records and will not be used to re-contact the child. Likewise, prior parental consent is not required for the The Winchester Star to accept personal information from a child for the sole purpose of directly responding more than once to a specific request. When responding more than once to specific request from an individual the The Winchester Star knows to be a child, a reasonable effort will be made to notify a parent - either by postal mail or by e-mail sent to the parent, not the child - that he can refuse to allow further use of the child's contact information. Such notice will be sent immediately after the first response to the child's request and before any additional responses are sent. Any contest in which children are participants, and for which the The Winchester Star knows children are registering online, shall be treated by the The Winchester Star as a contact with a child in which it is responding more than once to a specific request.

Children: Even under circumstances where prior parental consent is not required by law, the The Winchester Star suggests that children obtain permission from a parent before sending any information about themselves (including name, age, address, e-mail address, etc.) to the The Winchester Star or anyone else over the Internet.

Parents: The Winchester Star encourages parents to get involved with their children's online usage and to be aware of the activities in which their children are participating. Any personal information collected by the The Winchester Star from children (if the The Winchester Star is aware they are children) will be used only for internal purposes such as contest fulfillment, or fulfilling requests for information or materials. Such information will not be included in our database and will not be posted or published by the The Winchester Star, or provided to any third parties, without prior parental consent. If you have any concerns regarding use of information provided by a child, please contact us at news@winchesterstar.com, or at the postal mail address or telephone number above.

The Winchester Star’s Web site contains links to many other sites. However, we are not responsible for the content of the privacy practices employed by other sites.

Questions or concerns regarding what is done with information provided via this site should be directed to news@winchesterstar.com before any information is submitted.