A serious incident of plagiarism was brought to our attention on Friday regarding an Oct. 26 Middletown Press story about the arrest of a man who was field-dressing a deer carcass near Wesleyan University. The story also appeared in the print edition of The Register Citizen. CLICK HERE for an editor's note explaining the actions we are taking in response to the incident.

The headline on an earlier online version of a story about the United Way of Northwest Connecticut incorrectly reported that its annual fundraising campaign was being extended to Nov. 1. It is being extended to Nov. 10.

An earlier version of a roundup of local Halloween events posted this morning mistakenly omitted an event at the Winsted fire station. The Winsted Fire Department will hosting its first Open house and haunted maze on Monday evening, Oct. 31. This is a free event for all ages. Firefighter will be on hand to tour the fire trucks, learn fire prevention and safety and for those who dare make their way through the haunted house. Donations are being accepted for materials.

An October 14 story on a "Gentle Yoga" class benefiting the FISH shelter in Torrington incorrectly implied that the class would take place in Winsted, where its organizer, Bohdiworks, is located. It will take place Nov. 2 at Wisdom House in Litchfield.

A print and earlier online version of an October 22 story, "Winsted parents: Hinsdale Elementary School has mold, and our kids are getting sick," misspelled the name of a Winsted parent who spoke out about the problem. She is Melissa Asselin, not "Melissa Aslund."

A print and earlier online version of an October 18 story about the city of Torrington renewing its contract with the Torrington Titans baseball team incorrectly referred to the Titans as a "minor league" franchise. The Titans are an amateur summer collegiate league team, not a "minor league" team as typically associated with Major League Baseball.

We will be posting all new corrections to this blog (as well as within the stories where a mistake is made), so to start we wanted to link to previous corrections posted on RegisterCitizen.Com:

• 10/17 Correction: Man killed in shooting accident not hunting accident
• Oct. 4, 2011 Police Blotter Correction
• 9/13 CORRECTION: Symonds taught for 35 years, not 50
• 9/8/11 CORRECTION:
• Correction:One-car rollover on Aug. 19 was not near Farmington Dam
• 8/5/11 Correction - Case moved to superior court
• CORRECTION
• 8-5-11 Correction: Christopher Shays running for US Senate
• NWCT Orioles pitcher's first name incorrect
• 7/25 CORRECTION: Jeff Carrier not the town's webmaster
• 7/20 CORRECTION: Winsted Farmers Market director is Patrick Barrett
• CORRECTION: Name of farm in story was incorrect
• Correction: Incorrect web address for Jane Lloyd clambake event in Salisbury
• 7/7 CORRECTION: Laurel City Revamp offered loan if it can repay debt service, not loan to cover debt service
• 7/1 CORRECTION: Tsopanides visited University of Iowa alone
• 6/28 CORRECTION: Capitol Products owed $85,000 in back taxes, lien purchased for $25,001
• 6/28 CORRECTION: STEAP grant application for 2012 fiscal year, not 2011
• 6/24 CORRECTION: Clean-up grant awarded in 2001
• CORRECTION: Wind turbine moratorium removed from bill
• 5/19/2011 Judges from wrong senior center for Pet Parade
• CORRECTION: Thomas McKeon did not own Colebrook General Store
• CORRECTION: Beacon pharmacy is in Winsted, not New Hartford
• CORRECTION: Alcohol tax is 20% increase, not 20%
• Wrong Pitcher Named for Lewis Mills
• Torrington Baseball Player Misindentified
• 4/8/2011 Correction: Inaccurate information in lead sentence
• Ray Cswerko Top Finish Listed Incorrectly
• Litchfield finance board hears Paul's municipal budget
• 3/8 Correction: Wrong name in headline
• 3/2/2011 Correction: Wrong gas price given in March 2 Editorial
• 3/1 CORRECTION: Nader not involved in petition delivery
• 2/28 CORRECTION: Coggins mistakenly identified as WAPJ DJ
• 2/23 CORRECTION: Former Selectman's name wrong
• 2/18 CORRECTION: Man in headshot not Dr. Petit
• Wrong team in sports headline
• CORRECTION: Proposed legislation does not refer to wind turbines
• 1/22/11 CORRECTION: Weapon in Dr. King assassination was rifle, not handgun
• 1/18/11 CORRECTION; Wrong date given for event
• 1/9/11 CORRECTION: Accident involved ATV, not snowmobile
• 1/4/11 CORRECTION: Wrong person identified as bartender; wrong age given in court documents for suspect
• 12/30/10 Correction: Wrong Partner quoted
• 12/29/10 Correction on Letters to the Editor for Dec. 29
• CORRECTION: Athlete of the Week's last name spelled incorrectly
• CORRECTION: Torrington All-State player's last name spelled incorrectly
• 12/16/10 Correction: Incorrect dollar amounts given in Writer's Trust story
• CORRECTION: Winchester officials not necessarily in audience for agenda review
• CORRECTION: Berkshire League Tournament champion incorrectly identified
• 12/5/10 CORRECTION: Police searching for Chevy Blazer, not Tahoe, in attack on Harwinton employee
• 12/5/10 CORRECTION: Reference to victim, assailant confused
• CORRECTION: (12/3) Investigation focuses on Gilbert trustees corporation, not Gilbert School Corporation

Last year, we added a simple but hopefully clear and visible statement of accountability to our readers and sources on The Register Citizen's website.
Our "Fact Check" form at the bottom of every story asked readers to tell us if they find an error in our reporting.
Earlier this year, we improved that program with a new form that gives readers the opportunity to expand those reports. It asks for ways that we could have improved the story, or other sources we should contact on the topic. It also gives readers an optional opportunity to provide their own contact information to be a source on the topic in the future.
We also added a clear, written corrections policy and corrections collected in one place on the web.
Today, we're filling in a key missing piece - a better mechanism for us to let you know what happens after you submit a "Fact Check" report.
We'll be using this blog to publicize corrections to stories, to explain, if possible, how we made a particular mistake and to give you a better window into our reporting process.
We will also take some Fact Check reports that we could not confirm or feel were not valid and explain how we came to that conclusion and chose not to make a correction.
If you have any questions about this process, we'd love to talk to you.
You can reach me, Matt DeRienzo, at mderienzo@journalregister.com; Editor Rick Thomason at rthomason@registercitizen.com; or Managing Editor Emily M. Olson at eolson@registercitizen.com.

The Register Citizen strives for accuracy in the news stories and other content that are published on RegisterCitizen.Com and in its print edition.

We are committed to correcting all errors that come to our attention, and encourage readers, story sources and the community at-large to point them out to us.

Errors can be brought to our attention in a number of ways, including contacting the reporter who wrote the story in question by email or phone, or contacting Editor John Berry at jberry@journalregister.com or 860-489-3121, ext. 333, Managing Editor Emily M. Olson at eolson@registercitizen.com or 860-489-3121, ext. 334, or Group Editor Matt DeRienzo at mderienzo@journalregister.com.

Readers can also use the "Fact Check" form that appears at the bottom of every story that we publish on RegisterCitizen.Com. You can report errors anonymously, or provide an email and/or other contact information so that we can confirm receipt and/or action on the matter, and ask you to clarify if necessary.

We believe that no correction is too small to deserve our attention, and so we urge readers to notify us of everything from clear errors in fact, to misspelling of names, to improper or missing context that leads to a misrepresentation of the issue being discussed.

We strive to correct errors in our reporting as quickly as possible, and in several ways.

If a story has appeared both online and in print, we will print a correction in both places. Our Corrections box in the print edition of The Register Citizen appears on our daily editorial page. Our Corrections page online is at RegisterCitizen.Com/news/corrections.

Because we are able to edit stories online after they are initially published, we will do so to fix the information that was wrong. But we will also list a note at the bottom of the story marked "CORRECTION" that points out what was changed from the earlier version of the story. That correction note will also appear at RegisterCitizen.Com/news/corrections.

Online and in print, we believe that corrections should repeat the error and then report what the correct information is so that readers get the full picture of how our reporting and/or editing went wrong.

We can't guarantee a mistake-free newspaper and website, but we can pledge to be transparent about how we deal with and correct mistakes. That is the goal of this corrections policy and corrections page. If you feel points are missing from this policy, please contact Group Editor Matt DeRienzo at mderienzo@journalregister.com with your suggestions.