CLINTON TICKETS AVAILABLE

Free tickets will be distributed beginning at 10 a.m. today for President Bill Clinton's campaign rally in Cape Girardeau.

Clinton, Vice President Al Gore and their wives will attend a rally at Capaha Park Friday afternoon before the campaign hits the road with a bus tour to Memphis, Tenn.

The rally area will be fenced off. Gates will open at 11:30 a.m. and the rally will begin at 1:30 p.m., said Democratic Party worker Kendra Foster, who is coordinating the distribution of tickets.

Foster said she wasn't certain exactly when the president would arrive.

Some tickets are being reserved for schools and other community groups, she said.

As many as 40,000 tickets may be printed, said Rachel Fayman, Missouri press secretary for Clinton-Gore '96.

Fayman said the Clinton-Gore campaign staff want to accommodate as many people as possible at the city park.

The ticket system helps White House security with crowd control, she said.

Tickets will be available at various outlets in 25 counties of Southeast Missouri.

Tickets will be available at the Show Me Center box office in Cape Girardeau. Southeast Missouri State University students with valid identification cards can get tickets at the University Center.

Tickets also will be available at Town & Country at Marble Hill., 101 E. Cedar in Bertrand, Tom Given Accounting in Perryville and the Wal-Mart store in Sikeston.

Each person will be limited to four tickets. In order to receive tickets, a person must present photo identification and sign his or her name and address.

The campaign committee for congressional candidate Emily Firebaugh will distribute tickets in Carter, Crawford, Dent, Howell, Iron, Phelps, Reynolds, St. Francois, Washington and Wayne counties.

Firebaugh is scheduled to speak at the rally.

About a dozen secret service agents met with about 30 area law enforcement officers Monday in Cape Girardeau to discuss security for the president's visit.

Agencies represented at the meeting included the Cape Girardeau and Jackson police departments; the sheriff's departments in Cape Girardeau, Scott and Alexander, Ill., counties; the Missouri Highway Patrol; the Illinois State Police; and officers from the Illinois towns of Thebes and East Cape Girardeau.