Though it has not happened for a couple of years, some residents were still surprised to see that the Ironton-Lawrence County Memorial Day parade was not being broadcast live.

Ironton resident Larry Vencill was one of them. The 61-year-old said that he thought it was important that those unable to leave their homes be able to enjoy the parade.

"I think it's a real shame," Vencill said. "You know, some people can't get down there to see the parade, they're bed-ridden or something, and they really count on it being on TV (The parade organizers) just don't think about those people."

The switch was actually a result of a location move by parade organizers looking for a better view of the city, according to parade commander Lou Pyles.

"We moved the broadcast downtown so you could see more of the downtown area, uptown where we were all you saw was the price of gas and Long John Silver's," Pyles said. "People got a little tired of that, it made sense for us to move it, so we try to show more of the downtown area."

Though it may not have been ideal for scenery the previous location also had the benefit of being on top of an Adelphia Cable office, which allowed the parade to be broadcast live.

The more scenic locations don't have that feature so the event must be taped, and aired later said Don Moore, Director of Electronic Media at Ohio University Southern (which broadcasts the parade.)

"We've moved locations and there's not a direct feed straight into the cable company," Moore said.

Moore said that many residents still haven't gotten used to seeing the program on a delay.

"I had a lady swear up and down that it was live last year and that she had a tape to prove it," Moore said.

Pyles said that the tape-delay also means a bigger crowd lining the streets on parade.

"We wanted to bring more people out to see the parade, instead of sitting at home and watching it on television," Pyles said. "We realize that there's some people who can't get out, but a majority of the people will come out and watch it."

Moore doesn't expect that the broadcast will be live again anytime soon, as it would place too much of a financial burden on the largely volunteer-run effort.

All is not lost, however, for those who couldn't make it to the parade, or want to relive all the fun, as the parade will be broadcast on cable channel 25 at 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. throughout the week.