Terms

Words and phrases used in these Terms of Use have the definitions given to them in these Terms of Use or, if not defined herein, have their plain English meaning as commonly interpreted in the United States.

These Terms of Use are entered into as of the date you first access or use the Site (the “Effective Date”) and will continue until terminated as set forth herein.

Access to some of the content, services, and features on this Site requires users to register accounts. Each registered account is for a single user only and registration may require you to provide certain personal information, such as your name, email address, street address, gender, and date of birth. You must be at least 13 years old to register. Our use of personal information is governed by the terms of our Privacy Policy. You represent and warrant that the information you have provided to register an account is true, accurate, current, and complete and that you will maintain and promptly update the information to keep it so. We reserve the right to terminate the registration and deny access to all or a portion of this Site to any person who violates these Terms of Use.

You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of any usernames or passwords for your account to access to this Site, and you agree not to allow any other person or entity to use your usernames or passwords. You will be responsible for all activity that occurs (whether by you or by others) under your user account or password. You agree to notify us immediately of any unauthorized use of your password or username, or any other breach of security, and to let us know if you wish to cancel a username or password. You also agree to exit from your account at the end of each session. We cannot, and will not, be liable for any loss or damage arising from your failure to comply with these obligations. We reserve the right to delete or change your account’s username or password at any time and for any reason.

You are prohibited from trying to compromise security or tamper with system resources and/or accounts. The use or distribution of tools designed for compromising security (e.g., password guessing programs, cracking tools, or network probing tools) is strictly prohibited. If you become involved in any violation of system security, we reserve the right to release your details to system administrators at other websites in order to assist them in resolving security incidents. We reserve the right to investigate suspected violations of these Terms of Use.

We reserve the right to fully cooperate with any law enforcement authorities or court order requesting or directing us to disclose the identity of any user that is believed to violate these Terms of Use or any other federal, state, or local law or regulation. BY ACCEPTING THIS AGREEMENT YOU WAIVE AND HOLD US HARMLESS (1) FROM ANY CLAIMS RESULTING FROM ANY ACTION TAKEN BY US DURING, OR AS A RESULT OF, AN INVESTIGATION AND/OR (2) FROM ANY ACTIONS TAKEN AS A CONSEQUENCE OF INVESTIGATIONS BY EITHER US OR LAW ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITIES.

Subject to your agreement and compliance with these Terms of Use, we will permit you to access and use the Site solely for lawful purposes and only in accordance with these Terms of Use and any other written agreement to which you agree before being given access to any specific part of the Site. Any such additional agreement is in addition to these Terms of Use. In the event of a conflict between these Terms of Use and such additional agreement, such additional agreement controls.

This Site and the content on the Site that we provide (“Our Content”) is owned by us and third party providers and is protected by U.S. and international copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property laws. This Site and Our Content may not be copied, reproduced, republished, uploaded, posted, sold, leased, licensed, sublicensed, transmitted, or distributed without our written permission, except that you may download, display, and print one copy of Our Content on a single computer for your personal, non-commercial use only. You are solely responsible for verifying the accuracy, completeness, and applicability of Our Content and for your use thereof. Except as set forth in these Term of Use, you are granted no licenses or rights in or to any of Our Content, or any intellectual property rights therein or related thereto. "Deep-linking," "embedding," or using analogous technology with respect to Our Content or other content is strictly prohibited unless specifically authorized in writing. Unauthorized use of this Site or Our Content or other content on the Site may violate applicable copyright, trademark, or other intellectual property laws or other laws. You must retain all copyright and trademark notices, and any other proprietary notices, contained in Our Content or other content on the Site. The use of Our Content or other content on the Site on any other website or in any environment of networked computers is prohibited. You may establish a hypertext link to this Site, provided the link does not state or imply our sponsorship of the other site and further provided that you do not frame any of Our Content or other content on the Site or incorporate into another website or other service any of our intellectual property.

"Submissions" means all (1) comments, feedback, suggestions, email, and similar information or materials you submit to us including comments to blogs, stories, and community forums, letters to the editor, manuscripts, articles, photographs, videos, artwork, or any other materials; (2) and any content, including photographs, videos, artwork, and comments, that you post to our social media properties (e.g., our Facebook page) or that you tag us in by using our social media handles (e.g., our Twitter or Instagram handle). With respect to each Submission, you represent and agree that:

• You are the author of the Submission or that you are making the Submission with the express permission of the author/owner;
• The Submission is free from restrictions on publication and does not infringe or violate any existing copyright or other intellectual property right that exists in favor of any other person or entity;
• You are granting us a royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive, unrestricted, worldwide license to use, copy, modify, transmit, sell, exploit, create derivative works from, distribute, repost, and/or display such Submission, in whole or in part, in any manner or medium now known or hereafter developed;
• You automatically waive any claim that any use of such Submission violates any of your rights, including privacy rights, publicity rights, moral rights, or any other right, including the right to approve the way we use such Submission;
• You are responsible for the content of such Submission and acknowledge that third parties may hold you responsible for content related claims;
• You shall indemnify, defend, and hold harmless us, our parent company and our affiliated entities (including our officers, directors, owners, agents, and employees) from all liability and costs incurred in connection with any claim arising out of any breach by you of the above representations and warranties and for any claims related to such Submission; and
• We have the right to disclose any information related to such Submission that we believe necessary to comply with any law, regulation, or governmental request and provide information related to such Submission that could prevent or assist in the resolution of any criminal, illegal, or inappropriate activity.

We encourage a free and open exchange of ideas in a climate of mutual respect. We do not control the messages or postings that are sent to the Site but we, or third parties acting on our behalf, may monitor online conduct to enforce these Terms of Use. We reserve the right in our sole discretion, but do not assume any obligation, to refuse to post, remove, or edit any messages or postings sent to the Site, including Submissions. Any action by a user that infringes on another user's right to use and enjoy this Site is prohibited. We reserve the right to suspend or terminate your access to and use of this Site if, in our view, Submissions fail to meet any of our guidelines. You agree that under no circumstances will we be held liable to you, and we specifically disclaim any liabilities to you, for removing, disabling, or restricting access to or the availability of Submissions or other content. It is a condition of your use of the Site that you do not:

• Use the Site for any unlawful purpose or to transmit any material that contains a virus, worm, Trojan horse, or any other computer code, files, or programs designed to interrupt, destroy, or limit the functionality of any computer software, hardware, or telecommunications;
• Use the Site to encourage others to engage in illegal activities or activities that could cause injury to persons or property;
• Use the Site to upload, post, email, transmit, or otherwise make available content that infringes any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright, privacy, publicity, or other proprietary rights of any party;
• Use the Site to upload, post, email, transmit, or otherwise make available content that is harmful to minors in any way, or that is harassing, harmful, threatening, abusive, vulgar, obscene, defamatory, libelous, hateful, or racially, ethnically, or otherwise objectionable;
• Post any information that is false, misleading, or inaccurate or attempt to interfere with any other person's use of the Site;
• Access or attempt to access the Site except as expressly permitted in these Terms of Use;
• Use the Site in any manner that could damage, disable, overburden, or impair the Site;
• Use automated scripts to collect information from, or otherwise interact with, the Site;
• Monitor the availability, performance, or functionality of the Site;
• Interfere with the operation or hosting of the Site;
• Solicit funds, advertisers, or sponsors, or advertise any commercial endeavor (e.g., offering for sale products or services) or otherwise engage in any commercial activity (e.g., conducting "pyramid" schemes, raffles or contests, displaying sponsorship banners, or soliciting goods or services) except as may be specifically authorized on this Site;
• Hold yourself out as sponsored by, endorsed by, or affiliated with, us;
• Attempt to modify, translate, adapt, edit, decompile, disassemble, or reverse engineer any software programs used by us in connection with the Site; or,
• Post hyperlinks to other sites containing content prohibited by the Terms of Use.

To report a complaint, please use the Report Abuse button next to the content you wish to report.

Some areas of our Site may allow you to purchase items or services from us or from third parties. We are not responsible for any interactions between you and third parties or for the timeliness, accuracy, or quality of items purchased from them. You should review the practices and policies prior to purchasing items from third parties as their practices and policies may differ from ours. When you purchase items or services from our Site, you may be subject to additional terms and conditions that specifically apply to the items you are purchasing. You are financially responsible for all purchases made by you or someone using your account.

Our Site is not owned by, or affiliated with, any sportsbook, online casino, or daily fantasy sports site. It is wholly owned by Lee Enterprises, Incorporated.

However, our Site does draw financial support from advertising relationships with various third-party regulated gaming and gambling websites. In some cases, we may receive a commission or other financial compensation on a cost-per-acquisition fixed rate when you visit a gambling website via a link, contained in sponsored content or otherwise, on our Site and make a purchase.

The editorial independence of the news that you consume through the Site is important to us. Our financial relationship with advertisers does not influence the news on our Site.

Sponsored content on our Site may have been created, in whole or in part, by our advertising partners. Our news and editorial departments have no role in the creation or display of sponsored content from our advertising partners.

In accordance with the federal Fair Housing Act, we do not accept for publication any real estate listing that indicates any preference, limitation, or discrimination based on race, ethnicity, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, family status, or national origin. The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits real estate advertisements that indicate any preference, limitation, or discrimination because of race, ethnicity, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, familial status, or national origin.

If you believe a real estate advertisement on this website states such a preference, limitation, or discrimination, please contact us. For further information on the Fair Housing Act, see https://portal.hud.gov/.

We may provide you with the ability to access services developed, provided, or maintained by third-party service providers through the Site (“Third-Party Services”). Third-Party Services may integrate with, pull content from, or add content to the Site. In addition to these Terms of Use, your access to and use of any Third-Party Services is also subject to any other agreement you may agree to before being given access to the Third-Party Services (each, a “Third-Party Service Agreement”). The terms of any Third-Party Service Agreement will apply to the applicable Third-Party Services provided under that Third-Party Service Agreement in addition to these Terms of Use, but will not apply to any other services you may access.

Any links from this Site to other websites are provided for your information and convenience only. We do not assume any responsibility or liability with respect to any website linked from this Site (or any website linking to this Site). We do not review or monitor such links. A link from this Site to another website (or a link from another website to this Site) does not constitute a referral, endorsement, approval, advertising, offer, or solicitation with respect to such website, its contents, or any products or services advertised or distributed through that website. The privacy policies of other sites may differ from ours so if you have questions about other sites’ privacy policies, please contact them directly.

All subscription offers available at hickoryrecord.com, including those advertised through our email promotions, on-site messaging, social media, and any external means of promotion, are valid for new subscribers only. You must not have been a subscriber in the past thirty (30) days to register for a new subscription offer. Former subscribers who register for a new subscription will be charged any balance due on their prior subscription in addition to the amount due for the new subscription. You understand that delivery and billing will continue beyond the initial order period unless you cancel your subscription as detailed in the Cancellation paragraph. Rates may change after introductory offer period. There is a non-refundable one-time account set up fee of $6.99 for all new subscribers.

Both existing and new subscribers have the option of upgrading to a News+ Subscription, which offers Ad-Free unlimited digital access to hickoryrecord.com on any device, including our mobile app. By 'Ad-Free,' we mean News+ subscribers' reading experience on our Site will be free from disruption by internet-only advertising (such as banner, pop-up or search-related advertisements).

Ad-Free does not extend to third-party content to which News+ subscribers may be taken by clicking on a link, by reading our content on a social media platform or by listening to a podcast accessible on our Site. News+ subscribers will continue to have access to certain paid content that is traditionally part of a newspaper's print content (such as the Classified Advertising that appears when you click on links to Buy & Sell or Marketplace), much of which is now provided by our partners on third-party websites (such as Contests, Homes, Jobs and Obituaries), as well as to advertisements in the print edition that can only been seen by clicking on the link to the E-Edition (which is a pdf of the print edition). News+ subscribers who scroll through our feed on third-party platforms (such as Facebook, Instagram or X/Twitter) will continue to see paid messages posted by those platforms.

News+ subscribers who opt in, or have opted in, to receive emailed newsletters from us will continue to receive paid content with those email messages. News+ subscribers who click on the link to Brand Ave. Studios on our Site will continue to have access to the paid content provided by that site.

If you register for EZ Pay or debit banking (ACH) payments, your Digital Only or Print + Digital subscription service (your “Subscription”) will automatically renew. On the last day of your current term (your "Renewal Date"), your Subscription will automatically renew for the same length of time, at the then-current Subscription rate, which we may change in our discretion, unless you choose to cancel more than twenty-one (21) days before your Renewal Date (your "Cancellation Date"). YOU MAY CANCEL YOUR SUBSCRIPTION BY EMAILING US WITH THE SUBJECT LINE “CANCEL” AT custservice@hickoryrecord.com OR CALLING US AT 828-304-6979. YOU MAY ALSO BE ABLE TO CANCEL ONLINE DEPENDING ON YOUR SUBSCRIPTION – PLEASE CHECK YOUR SETTINGS IN YOUR ACCOUNT DASHBOARD TO SEE IF THIS OPTION IS AVAILABLE TO YOU.

Prior to the Cancellation Date, we will send you a notice reminding you about the renewal of your Subscription. Subscribers who prefer to receive paper renewal notices in the mail will be charged $6.99 for each renewal notice; this fee is waived for subscribers who sign up to receive their renewal notices via email. If you wish to receive renewal notices via email, please contact us at custservice@hickoryrecord.com or call 828-304-6979.

IF YOU DO NOT AFFIRMATIVELY CANCEL YOUR SUBSCRIPTION BEFORE YOUR CANCELLATION DATE, YOU WILL BE CHARGED FOR AN ADDITIONAL TERM FOR THE SUBSCRIPTION YOU INITIALLY SELECTED AT THE RATES IN EFFECT AT THE TIME OF RENEWAL.

If you have provided us with a valid credit card number or an alternate payment method saved in your account, and you have not cancelled by your Cancellation Date, your Subscription will be automatically processed up to fourteen (14) days in advance of your Renewal Date, and the payment method you provided to us at or after the time of your initial Subscription purchase will be charged. For current subscribers who convert to EZ Pay, any balance due will be charged to the payment method on file at the time of the switch.

We reserve the right to change your Subscription rate at the next renewal period. If you are not satisfied with your Subscription rate or service, you may cancel your Subscription at any time. No refunds will be returned if remainder of the Subscription term is under thirty (30) days. The refund amount of any balance over $25.00 will be returned minus an early termination fee of $25.00. No refunds for Digital Only subscriptions are provided.

Print subscribers get the benefit of newspaper home delivery by mail as well as digital access. All subscriptions are subject to the Cancellation, Refund and Renewal Policy described above, and all EZ Pay or ACH subscriptions are also subject to the Auto-Renewal Policy, as well as the additional terms and conditions set forth below.

All Subscriptions include unlimited digital access, but there may be links to content on other websites owned by our parent company that can be accessed only through an additional paywall. In such cases, your Subscription to content behind a separate paywall will be governed by any additional terms that are associated therewith. To access these benefits, you must first provide your email address, register with hickoryrecord.com/services, and activate your account online. To activate your digital account visit hickoryrecord.com/activate. You can manage your account at hickoryrecord.com/services.

We may, in our sole discretion, change features of your subscription, including without limitations frequency of and media/platform for delivery. We will notify you of any material changes to your subscription prior to your next renewal and sent to you before your subscription renews with those changes. YOUR CONTINUED SUBSCRIPTION FOLLOWING SUCH CHANGES CONSTITUTES YOUR ACCEPTANCE OF THE CHANGES. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO ANY CHANGES, YOU MUST CANCEL YOUR SUBSCRIPTION.

Print Vacation holds up to thirty (30) days will continue to bill at regular rate while full digital access is maintained. Extended vacations of thirty-one (31) days or more will not incur charges and all Subscription benefits will be suspended during that time.