CAIRO PREPARES FOR VISIT BY CLINTONS AND GORES

CAIRO, Ill. -- It is more than one man's visit to a small Illinois town -- it is the day Cairo welcomes the president.

When President Bill Clinton first announced his plans to leave Cape Girardeau on his campaign tour across Illinois to Paducah, Ky., the mayor of Cairo was told it was possible -- if reaction was favorable enough -- that Clinton would stop there and speak.

"We had such a successful effort they (Clinton's tour planners) decided to make it a full-scale stop," Mayor James Wilson said. "Which is probably for the best. His initial plans were to stop if there was a crowd. So what would have happened is he would have pulled in, seen 5,000 people in the street, there wouldn't have been proper planning, and security would have been a lot tougher."

Now the plans have been laid, a 5:45-p.m. stop at the Cairo Public Library with speeches by the president, Vice President Al Gore, his wife, Tipper Gore and the president's wife, Hillary Clinton, but far from finalized.

"It has been wild and woolly," Wilson said. "There are two or three people (associated with the tour) who are claiming to be in charge. We've heard 48 different things."

Some things Wilson won't know until just before the president's stop. He doesn't know if local speakers will be addressing the crowd. He doesn't know who will be introducing the first speaker from the tour.

What he does know is the city is turning out all its best colors for the first president to visit Cairo since 1909.

"This is the biggest thing that's ever happened to us," Wilson said. "It is going to overwhelm so many people. I know we're going to have a very large delegation from Southern Illinois."

Volunteers and inmates have been on the streets since last week cleaning, painting, sweeping and arranging. Banners will be strung with welcoming words. As many as 2,000 American flags will adorn utility poles along U.S. 51, the main street of Cairo. The high school band will play. There will be concession stands, balloons and buttons commemorating the event. The library is planning a reception among other things.

Cairo Public Library director Monica Smith said there are special events in the works for the president's visit but refused to discuss any of them because the plans were not finalized.

Wilson wasn't as cautious.

"It's more than just one man visiting Cairo," he said. "It's the president, the vice president and their wives. That doesn't happen often. They all like to go their own ways. And with this falling on the heels of the convention it should get maximum exposure. So we're going to showcase Cairo. This is going to put us on the map a little bit."