Parade was a hit on www.gcdailyworld.com

The annual Fourth of July celebration has come and gone for another year.

Mother Nature cooperated for this year's Linton Freedom Festival parade, as it was still in the high 70s at 10 a.m. The predicted rain remained north and south of Greene County. It sprinkled a little around 8:30 or 9, but nothing to worry about.

This year marked the first time the Greene County Daily World live streamed the parade on its website. To be honest, we had no idea how many people would watch.

We were pleasantly surprised.

As of Friday morning, 1,056 viewers had watched the video either live or in the video library. On Monday, the day of the parade, 593 watched. The rest have viewed past 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday.

Overall the production of the event went smoothly, thanks in part to Jake Thatcher of Node 1 Technology. He provided the Internet hook-up from his North Main St. office.

Other than trying to keep the equipment from getting wet from a couple of overzealous youth baseball players using their water guns along the parade, there were no major problems.

Some have suggested someone should do commentary next year, and that's something we're considering.

The newspaper has heard from many people who couldn't attend this year's parade or who have moved away who loved being able to watch one of Linton's traditions.

We appreciate you watching!

The newspaper has plans to expand its live stream coverage, and that will start July 20 with the Linton-Stockton Board of School Trustees meeting.

Superintendent Nick Karazsia has been very supportive in helping get things prepared for the first meeting. Along with the help of Cain Cooksey, the school's IT director, we conducted a test Thursday and it worked perfectly.

The meeting will start at 7:30 p.m., or whenever the executive session is completed.

If you live in the Linton-Stockton school district, this is your chance to watch your school board make important decisions. Being involved will only make a school stronger.

Watching a meeting on your computer may not be that exciting, but it shows you care and want a better school. Parents are always encouraged to get involved with their child's education, so what better way than to start at the top with the people who make the decisions about how the school operates.

We've also discussed live streaming the Linton City Council meetings, and the Eastern Greene and Bloomfield school board meetings. The details are still being worked out.

Linton Mayor Patti Jones likes the idea of live streaming her meetings, but wants to discuss the idea with the city council.

Stay tuned to www.gcdailyworld.com to keep up with the live stream schedule.

Chris is the general manager/editor of the Greene County Daily World. He can be reached by telephone at 847-4487 or 1-800-947-4487 or by email at cpruett79@gmail.com