Clinton Visit
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President Bill Clinton
visited Harrison County on May 22 and held a national town meeting on education

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May 21, 1997
The following articles are from our special Presidential Issue
- The Clinton Town Meeting -


Presidential preparations near completion
Second ticket distribution planned today

By BILL BYRD

Local officials are hoping Benedum Airport looks like a giant picnic ground when President Clinton's plane touches down shortly before noon tomorrow.

"We're going to have a celebration," to thank the president for picking Robert C. Byrd High School for Thursday afternoon's town meeting on education, said Harrison School Superintendent Robert E. Kittle.

A second distribution of free tickets for the president's stump speech will take place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. today. As they were yesterday evening, the tickets for Clinton's 2:55 p.m. airport speech will be available at Bridgeport Middle School, 413 Johnson Ave., and the Heritage Square BookCafe in the Heritage Bank Building, 140 W. Main St., Clarksburg.

The president will be welcomed by students and teachers from northcentral West Virginia. He also will see most of the state's political and business leaders in a VIP section.

The scramble for the several hundred VIP tickets for the airport events began in earnest early yesterday, sources said.

The only somber note was the death Monday of Kittle's mother, Ruth Kittle, in a Lewis County nursing home. She had been ill for some time, family members said.

Also Tuesday:

_ A new World Wide Web page featuring live video and sound for the high school event went on-line on the Internet.

Computer users around the world can access it at this on-line address: http://www.cotf.edu/townhall. Designed by programmers at NASA's Classroom of the Future at Wheeling Jesuit College, the new Web page is also linked to Clarksburg Publishing Co.'s on-line address, as well as that of the White House and the governor.

Clarksburg Publishing Co.'s on-line address is http://cpubco.com.

_ RCB students will have regular classes for the first three periods of the day on Thursday, Kittle said. After an early lunch, they will go to the school's auditorium to view the education forum on big-screen televisions.

The president will meet the school's 975 students and their 65 teachers after the forum.

There will be no public parking at the airport Thursday. Instead, residents should use a free shuttle service from Meadowbrook Mall to the airport. The shuttle service will begin about 10:30 a.m. with public buses and accelerate about 11:15 a.m. with the arrival of a fleet of county school buses.

_ County school officials extended a special invitation to James E. Griffin, the new president-elect of the local United Way campaign, to attend the education forum as a representative of the city's African-American community. While minority students will be in the audience, the school system acted after Pastor David Kates complained that minorities and "common everyday folks"were being ignored.

_ Two more closed-door dress rehearsals for the invitation-only audience for the education forum will take place early tomorrow morning, sources said.

The advance team is not planting questions with the 160 carefully-screened guests, a spokesman stressed. The audience will include 40 students.

The run-throughs are designed to make the audience feel comfortable with questioning a president, he said.

With the exception of RCB High, only a half-day of classes is on tap Thursday for all other county schools. Classes will be dismissed at 11 a.m. following an early lunch.

Classes have to be let out early because county school buses are needed to provide the free shuttle service between the mall and the airport.

The education forum is set to begin about 12:45 p.m. and last for about 75 minutes. The West Virginia Educational Broadcasting Authority is going to televise the event live from the RCBHS gym.

In addition, WBOY-TV 12 Clarksburg will also broadcast the forum. The local commercial station is also offering live coverage of the president's arrival and the departure ceremonies, including the presidential speech. WDTV-Channel 5 is also planning live coverage but the station's coverage plan has not been completed, a spokeswoman said Tuesday night.

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Clinton coming, students leaving
Dismissal, homework planned

By BILL BYRD

Benedum Airport will look like a giant picnic ground by the time President Clinton's plane lands shortly before noon Thursday, local school officials and politicians said today.

"We're going to have a celebration," to thank the president for picking Robert C. Byrd High School for a televised town meeting on education, Harrison Superintendent Robert E. Kittle said.

Besides student and teacher delegations from each of the county's schools and surrounding counties' school systems, longtime backers of the president and U.S. Sens. Robert C. Byrd and Jay Rockefeller and U.S. Rep. Alan B. Mollohan have been invited to see and hear a presidential stump speech, Kittle said.

Several hundred VIP tickets have been set aside for the airport speech, tentatively scheduled for 2:55 p.m. before the president leaves to fly back to the nation's capital.

The state's business, political and professional establishment, including prominent Republicans and backers of Gov. Cecil Underwood, are now scrambling for the VIP tickets, sources said.

The only somber note as the pace of preparations stepped up markedly today was the death Monday of Kittle's mother, Ruth Kittle, in a Lewis County nursing home. She had been ill for some time, family members said.

Besides the VIP arrangements, which include a tent, large-screen television sets to watch the town meeting, food and soft drinks, more details were released today about presidential visit:

_ A new World Wide Web page featuring live video and sound for the high school event is now on the Internet. Computer users around the world can access it at this on-line address: http://www.cotf.edu/townhall. Designed by computer experts at NASA's Classroom of the Future at Wheeling Jesuit College, Wheeling, the new Web page is also linked to Clarksburg Publishing Co.'s on-line address, as well as that of the White House and the governor.

Clarksburg Publishing Co.'s on-line address is http://cpubco.com.

_ RCB students will have regular classes for the first three periods of the day on sday, Kittle said. They will then have an early lunch. Afterwards, they will go to the school's auditorium to view the education forum on big-screen televisions. The president is expected to visit with the 975 students and their 65 teachers after the end of the forum.

_ Residents who want to see the presidential speech at the airport can obtain free tickets tonight. The tickets will be distributed from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Heritage Bank, 140 W. Main St., Clarksburg, and the new Bridgeport Middle School, 413 Johnson Ave., Bridgeport.

Residents must show a valid photo ID when picking up their tickets. At the airport, they must also go through metal detectors before being allowed into the secure holding area for the presidential speech.

There will be no public parking at the airport Thursday. Instead, residents should use a free school bus shuttle service from Meadowbrook Mall to the airport. The shuttle service will begin about 10:30 a.m. with public buses and accelerate about 11:15 a.m. with the arrival of a fleet of county school buses.

On Monday night, part of the carefully selected 160 members of the education forum went through a closed-door dress rehearsal in the RCB gymnasium.

A White House advance team member told the group _ which includes 40 area students selected for their academic achievements and participation in community life _ that the purpose of the briefing and two more set for early Thursday morning was to familiarize them with the show's format.

"We don't want to prompt you on your questions," but the advance team was concerned that the audience feel comfortable about questioning a president.

The team also handed out copies of Clinton's 10-point agenda, elements of which are included in the bipartisan congressional leadership's balanced budget compromise with the administration.

The invitation-only audience was chosen by Kittle, State School Superintendent Henry Marockie, Rockefeller, Byrd, Underwood and the state Democratic Party.

With the exception of Byrd High, only a half-day of classes on tap Thursday for all other county school students. Classes will be dismissed at 11 a.m. following an early lunch.

The president's visit also means an extra homework assignment for those students, however, Kittle said Monday.

They must watch the televised forum "and take notes so they may participate in follow- up classroom discussions," he said.

Classes have to be let out early because county school buses are needed to provide the free shuttle service between the mall and the airport.

The education forum is set to begin about 12:45 p.m. and last for about 75 minutes. The West Virginia Educational Broadcasting Authority is going to televise the event live from the RCBHS gym to the state's public television stations.

Each county school will get 50 tickets for a delegation of teachers and students to attend the airport speech.

Participants should pack a sack lunch, dress comfortably and be prepared to spend several hours waiting for the president and his party to return to the airport.

In addition, one busload of 50 students and teachers will come from each of the following counties: Doddridge, Marion, Monongalia, Taylor, Barbour, Upshur, Lewis, Preston, Gilmer, Randolph and Tucker.

Tentative Presidential Schedule
_ 11:50 a.m. _ Arrival at Benedum Airport via Air Force One
_ 12:45 p.m. _ Town hall meeting at Robert C. Byrd High School
_ 2:55 p.m. _ Address to public at Benedum Airport
_ 4:15 p.m. _ Departure from airport via Air Force One.

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President's visit will impact area

By GAIL MARSH

It is not yet known what sort of impact President Bill Clinton's visit will have on the Clarksburg area. But all of the local people who were asked about the impact feel the visit will have nothing but positive results.

"It's bound to have an impact for years to come," said City Manager Percy C. Ashcraft II. "When somebody passes down Interstate 79 or Rt. 50, they will be able to say that President Clinton was here, and that brings an historical perspective to our area," he said.

Ashcraft noted that the area has a strong history with Stonewall Jackson, and now it will have a modern history with Clinton's visit, he said.

Sue Baldini thinks the president's visit may help to break a long-standing identity crisis in the state of West Virginia.

"I don't know about the economic impact, but I do know that this visit is important for our image," the executive director of The Visitors Bureau said.

"When we go to travel shows, I will have people come up to me and say, 'We just visited Williamsburg last year."' I have to tell them that West Virginia is a separate state.

"With the president's visit, the rest of the country, the rest of the world will be able to identify Clarksburg and where it is, to help to make us identifiable," Baldini said.

Jeff Mikorski, Clarksburg's director of community and economic development, agrees with Baldini.

"I agree with Sue about the state's identity crisis, but also the area is feeling downtrodden because no big businesses were coming here," he said.

"This visit may help people to realize just how much the state is improving in the area of education and technology. Just because there is no major industry knocking on our door doesn't mean that developments are not taking place," Mikorski said.

Ray Farley, executive director of the Harrison County Development Authority, believes the president's visit says much about the area's economic direction.

"With the president holding a national forum on education at Robert C. Byrd High School and addressing the public at the Benedum Airport, this just validates the direction our community has gone and the programs it has endeavored," Farley said.

"The education levies we have passed for the last 20 years and the airport expansion we have undertaken have been a big part of our progress. The president's visit and his public forum at these two places validates the community and the direction we are taking in the local economy.

"I think it's significant that he's speaking at both of these places," he said.

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Choosing those who will meet
president a tough job, Kittle says

By TROY GRAHAM

Choosing 160 lucky people for a once-in-a-lifetime encounter with the president of the United States is a tough job.

Just ask Harrison County School Superintendent Robert Kittle, who was in charge of selecting the participants for President Clinton's education town hall meeting at Robert C. Byrd High School.

"If you want me to tell you it's easy, it's not," Kittle said of the selection process.

According to Kittle, an equal number of students, parents, teachers and school officials, plus business and civic leaders will be on hand. Each group will have 40 representatives.

The town hall participants were chosen by Kittle and his staff, Larry Lemon of Sen. Jay Rockefeller's office and John McCutcheon of Gov. Cecil Underwood's office, along with input from state School Superintendent Hank Marockie and others.

Most of the lucky few were notified of their selection on Sunday, and they will be given the opportunity to directly quiz the president at Thursday's town meeting.

Because the town hall meeting is being held in Clarksburg, Kittle said, Harrison County will obviously have the most participants. But an effort was made to include residents from around the state, the superintendent said.

Also, the selection committee attempted to include such people as Teacher of the Year award winners and high school valedictorians.

In addition to the 160 state residents, the town hall will host a er of state politicians.

Kittle said Senators Rockefeller and Robert C. Byrd, U.S. Representatives Bob Wise, Alan Mollohan and Nick Rahall, Underwood and U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley have all been invited, although he was not sure how many will attend.

"I don't think we'll know who's coming until they get off the plane," Kittle added.

Residents who are not on the short list of names attending the town meeting have a chance to see Clinton when he speaks at Benedum Airport before returning to the nation's capital.

Those who will attend the airport rally had to pick up a free ticket at Heritage Bank on West Main Street in Clarksburg or Bridgeport Middle School either Tuesday or today. When picking up tickets, residents had to show a photo ID.

All those attending the airport rally will have to pass through a metal detector before being allowed to enter a secure area.

To solve a parking-shortage problem at Benedum, county school buses will offer a free park-and-ride to the airport from Meadowbrook Mall.

About 10,000 tickets were printed for the event by Clarksburg Publishing Company.

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Political Science teacher uses president's visit in classroom

By JEFF TOQUINTO

Over the course of the last 27 years, Gary Poling has tried to stimulate the minds of his students in the fields of history and political science. And the Robert C. Byrd High School teacher knows there are few things that can do more to stimulate interest in his teaching field than a visit by the President of the United States.

Poling, who taught his entire time at Washington Irving before making his move to the newly- opened RCBHS, thinks there are many positives to come from President Clinton's visit which can be applied to the educational field.

"I think it's most definitely conducive to the learning environment," said Poling. "It will an impact. But it will have a tremendous impact if the kids are afforded the opportunity to see him. All of the students in Harrison County should have some chance to see the president."

On Thursday, Robert E. Kittle eased some of those fears. Kittle said an unknown number of students would be invited to attend the town meeting, but would not take part in the forum.

Kittle also said all RCB students will have the opportunity to meet the president, even if it's momentarily.

Poling said with the school year coming to an end, it would be hard to introduce any lessons from the visit in the current curriculum. However, it will be discussed during his lessons.

According to Poling, he's been flooded with questions. He also said the students are excited.

"They are definitely interested as to what's going to take place," he said. "Many of them just want an opportunity to see the president."

Next year, Poling said he can incorporate lessons from this visit into lessons in the classroom.

"This should stimulate interest in the executive branch," said Poling. "This is good for the educational process."

For years, Poling has taken various groups of students to the inauguration ceremonies of different presidents. He said he's aware of what is involved for any event involving the president's arrival.

He's hoping local residents are aware what's coming.

"I have a feeling the people here don't know about the security that's coming and the changes in the traffic patterns," said Poling. "I think people will be shocked with what's coming."

Poling said the residents, however, should be more than willing to make the sacrifices for this special occasion.

"It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," "This is memorable. I'll never forget when John F. Kennedy came through and I saw him at WBOY and uptown.

"This is a tremendous event for Clarksburg," he continued. "You have to remember, that this man is the leader of the free world."

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RCB, area in national spotlight
thanks to Public TV, Internet

By TROY GRAHAM

President Clinton's education town hall meeting at Robert C. Byrd High School Thursday will put the school and the area in an international spotlight, thanks to public television and the Internet.

Schools from around the state will have the opportunity to tune in and watch the meeting on West Virginia Public Television, and people around the globe will get a chance to view the town hall via the World Wide Web, according to Harrison County Superintendent Robert Kittle,

West Virginia Public Television producer Beth Vorhees said Kittle approached her with the idea for a live broadcast for the other schools in the state.

"I think it is extremely important that we give as many children as possible the chance to see the president," Kittle said. "It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

Five cameras will be on hand to cover the event, Vorhees said. She also said on Sunday that a site survey would be conducted of RCBHS at the beginning of the week to determine if the meeting would be broadcast by satellite or microwave.

Regardless of the transmission, stations covering the entire state will be able to pick up the program. Among the stations signed on to carry the meeting are WNPB in Morgantown, WSWP in Beckley, WPBY in Huntington-Charleston and WBOY in Clarksburg.

Officials at WDTV in Clarksburg said they would break into their regular programming for news updates, but the station was unsure if it would pick up the public television feed.

In addition, the town hall meeting will reach people all over the world thanks to computer experts at NASA who lent their expertise to the high school.

"It's amazing to think that from Clarksburg, West Virginia, this broadcast will go all over the world," Kittle said.

The Robert C. Byrd web page will also allow Internet users to submit questions to the president, the superintendent said.

Kittle believes all the exposure from the town hall will be a basis for further economic development in the area.

"It's a wonderful opportunity to showcase Harrison County and the school system," he said. "We're very proud of what we have here.

"There are literally thousands of school systems around the country and he's (Clinton) chosen ours."

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