Who we are
Our website address is: https://lawrencecounty.org/
This website is owned and operated by the Lawrence County, Ohio Board of County Commissioners. It is a public asset that exists to serve the residents of Lawrence County, Ohio.
Visitor counting (analytics), and your choice about it
We use one analytics tool, WordPress.com Stats (a service of Automattic Inc., also called Jetpack Stats), to count page views and visits so we can understand which pages residents find useful. When it runs, it receives standard technical information from your browser, such as your IP address, browser type, and the page you viewed.
It only runs if you allow it. The first time you visit, a “Privacy choices” notice appears at the bottom of the screen with two equal options: Allow analytics, or Decline. No analytics code runs, and nothing is sent to WordPress.com, unless you choose Allow. If you decline, or simply ignore the notice, every part of this website still works exactly the same.
- Changing your mind: a “Privacy Choices” link at the bottom of every page lets you review or change your choice at any time. Your choice is remembered for six months, then we ask again.
- Browser privacy signals: if your browser sends the Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal, we treat that as a Decline automatically and you will not see the notice.
- What we keep about your choice: a record containing a random identifier, the choice you made, the version of the notice you saw, and the date and time. It contains no name, no IP address, and no other personal information. We keep it for up to three years as evidence of your choice, then delete it.
We do not use advertising pixels, retargeting tools, session-recording tools, or social media trackers anywhere on this site.
Forms
The forms on this site (such as the Project First Impression form) generate an email to the appropriate county office. Once submitted, the information you enter is not stored on the website beyond that email. Form submissions are checked for spam by Akismet, an automated filtering service operated by Automattic Inc. That check happens on the server and runs nothing in your browser. Please note that correspondence sent to a public office in Ohio may be subject to the state public records laws.
Comments
If you leave a comment on the site, we collect the information shown in the comments form along with your IP address and browser user agent string to help with spam detection. An anonymized string created from your email address (called a hash) may be provided to the Gravatar service to check whether you use it. The Gravatar privacy policy is available at https://automattic.com/privacy/. After your comment is approved, your profile picture (if any) is visible to the public alongside your comment.
Cookies
- hcg_consent: set only when you make a privacy choice. It remembers that choice for six months. It identifies your choice, not you, and is not shared with anyone.
- Comment cookies: if you leave a comment you may opt in to saving your name, email, and website so you do not have to re-enter them next time. These last one year.
- Login cookies: apply only to county staff accounts, not to visitors.
Embedded content from other websites
Pages and posts may include embedded content, such as videos or maps, from other websites. Embedded content behaves as if you had visited the other website directly, and that website may collect data about you, use its own cookies, or track your interaction with the content. The Commissioners’ Office does not control third-party content providers. Please review their policies when you interact with embedded content.
Who we share data with
Analytics information is used internally, in summary form, to understand how residents use the site and to direct public resources online. We do not sell visitor data or share it for advertising. As a public office, we comply with valid public-records requests and lawful requests from local, state, and federal agencies.
How long we keep data
- Comments and their metadata: retained indefinitely, so follow-up comments can be recognized and approved automatically.
- Privacy-choice records: up to three years, then deleted.
- Form submissions: only as the email generated to the receiving office, subject to that office’s records retention schedule.
Your rights
If you have left comments on this site, you can request an exported file of the personal data we hold about you, and you can request that we erase it, except data we must keep for administrative, legal, or security purposes. You can change your analytics choice at any time using the Privacy Choices link at the bottom of any page.
Contact
Questions about this policy can be directed to the Lawrence County Commissioners’ Office: (740) 533-4300.
Effective date: July 21, 2026. This policy was last reviewed in July 2026, when the site’s privacy tooling was updated: Google reCAPTCHA was removed from the site, and analytics was placed behind the visitor consent notice described above.