AREA CITIES READY FOR CLINTON, GORE

From the port of Cairo to the music halls of Memphis, Tenn., there is a frenzy of activity to prepare for President Bill Clinton's arrival this weekend.

The president's bus tour will travel an undisclosed route through Cairo Friday after it leaves Cape Girardeau around 4:30 p.m. After speeches by Clinton, Vice President Al Gore, Tipper Gore and Hillary Rodham Clinton, the buses will travel to Paducah, Ky. After an overnight stay in Paducah, the president's tour moves on to Dyersburg, Tenn., en route to Memphis.

Cairo Mayor James Wilson said his city's effort to prepare for Clinton's arrival has moved "full steam ahead."

"It is wild and woolly out here," Wilson said. "It's like Grand Central Station."

Cairo is planning a celebration on the front lawn of the Cairo Public Library around 5:45 p.m. that will feature the high school band, balloons, flags, speeches and buttons made to commemorate the first visit of a sitting president to the city since 1909.

"This is the biggest thing to ever happen to us," Wilson said. "This is going to overwhelm so many people. We're going to showcase Cairo. This is going to put us on the map a little bit."

Event planners in Paducah are mixing a little anxiety with their enthusiasm, Paducah City Manager Jerry Hoover said. The city will be host to the president and his party overnight, which is putting a bit of a strain on the local police force.

"The only headache is for the police department, which will have to stay mobilized all night," Hoover said. "But the Secret Service is one of the most professional organizations in the world. They know how to do this and they come in and lay out their plan."

The president's stay will mean considerable overtime for most of Paducah's 80-officer force. Not only will Paducah police have to provide a measure of security for Clinton during his stay, they will have to conduct their usual patrols and maintain the city's security as well.

"This will be a chance for our police force to showcase their professionalism," Hoover said. "I know they'll come through with flying colors."

Hoover said the city has moved up some of its scheduled riverfront events so it coincides with the president's 9 p.m. visit. Cleaning up the city hasn't been as much of a problem as it might in other cities, Hoover said.

"We have a reputation for having a clean city so there wasn't a whole lot of cleaning up, we usually do a pretty good job of staying on top of that," he said. "But you can be the finest housekeeper in the world but when you get that special visitor you tend to spruce up a little more."

Hoover said this is the first visit of a president to Paducah since 1952, but he doesn't see another 44 years going by before another one comes to town.

"You'll notice over the last couple years interest in this part of the country has really started to grow," he said. "I mean Clinton will go through four states and touch on a lot of voters in a two-day trip. All of a sudden this is becoming a regular occasion."

You might not be able to tell if the people in Dyersburg are excited about the president's visit -- they're too busy getting ready.

"It's hectic around here," Rogenia Anderson, assistant to Dyersburg Mayor Bill Revell, said. "I can't tell if anybody's excited, everyone just looks busy to me."

Anderson said a month's worth of work has been accomplished in the days since Clinton announced his tour stop.

"We got all the weeds out of the cracks, we put flowers in the pots," she said. "They even painted the courthouse."

Many Dyersburg residents have canceled Labor Day weekend plans for the president's noon visit, but not enough to allow the high school band to perform at the rally. Anderson said the people of Dyersburg are not treating Clinton's visit as a Democratic rally.

"This will be the making of history," she said. "Everyone is all excited. There has been a long line for tickets."

When Clinton passed through Memphis in 1992 on his campaign tour, 5,000 residents turned out to welcome him. This year, the city is making plans for a much bigger event.

"They are planning for several times that size," Barry Gildea, communications manager for the mayor of Memphis said. "We're not a Chicago or New York so a gathering of 15,000 is pretty big by our standards."

Gildea said the president's advance team is taking a lot of the burden off the city planners by organizing some events on their own. And still "city hall is just gang-busters."

"Travel arrangements have been canceled," Gildea said. "Everyone is treating it as an historical event."

The city's high school bands will play, a sixth-grade choir will sing, candidates will give speeches and the trollies will ferry in people up until 5 p.m. when the event is scheduled to start.

"Everyone is excited," Gildea said. "It's a big deal, despite the fact that it's Labor Day weekend."