BY PATRICK CROWLEY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
CARROLLTON, Ky. -- Thanks to Bill Clinton, Welch's Riverside Restaurant is going national.
A crew from CNN is expected to be at the family diner, between Main Street and the Ohio River, tonight as this town of just under 4,000 prepares for the president's visit Thursday.
Mr. Clinton will come to the Carroll County seat, about an hour southwest of Cincinnati, to talk about his tobacco policy and efforts to curb teen smoking.
"There're reporters and Secret Service agents all over town," said cook Gladys Duncan, 41, whose brother and sister-in-law, Donna and Ernest "Junior" Welch, own and run the diner, a favorite haunt of local tobacco farmers.
"I think it's great that Bill Clinton is coming here. It's exciting. But I hope he doesn't hurt tobacco. This business, my family, and really this whole town and this whole county depend on tobacco," Ms. Duncan said as she finished a bowl of green Jell-O.
Donna Welch said her husband grows about 250,000 pounds of tobacco annually on 30 acres just across the Kentucky River from Carrollton in Prestonville.
"We bought this restaurant from Junior's aunt about five years ago so we had something else besides tobacco," Mrs. Welch said. "There's always something hurting it. The weather. The government. People who don't want smoking. It gets a little scary because our whole lives have been about tobacco."
The president will visit Carroll County High School at 12:30 p.m. He'll address an assembly of about 2,000 students from Carroll, Trimble and Gallatin counties, said Carroll County Principal Randy Marcum.
"The whole school is excited," Mr. Marcum said Tuesday afternoon as Secret Service agents checked out the parking lot, the gym and the school's main hallway.
"I think it will be something the kids never forget."
Junior Marissa Vaught, 17, was chosen by school officials to participate in a round table discussion on tobacco with Mr. Clinton, tobacco growers and local officials.
That will be at 10:25 a.m. at the Kentuckiana Tobacco Warehouse, which sits across Ky. 227 from Carroll County High School.
"I can't believe it. I'm so nervous," said Marissa.
"I love Bill Clinton. I think he's done a lot for the country, and while I don't want him to do anything that will hurt tobacco and our economy, I'm glad he's looking at the whole issue of teen smoking." As school let out, Corey Cornett, 15; Brian Mumphrey, 17; and Nick McNeal, 15, agreed that the president's visit is the most exciting event to happen in their hometown in a long time.
"It's pretty cool, all these Secret Service agents hanging around," said Nick.
"All the teachers have been telling us to dress up Thursday . . . and be on good behavior," added Brian.
"I just can't believe the president is coming here," said Corey. "I think people around here like him. Everybody's excited about it."
Back at Welch's, Bob Yocum, 55, a daily customer and a former tobacco grower, pointed to a sign on the restaurant wall that reads, "Thank you for smoking."
"This town would go bankrupt without tobacco," said Mr. Yocum, a retired auto worker.
"And I'll tell you, I'm not very interested in hearing what the president has to say. He came here (six) years ago and didn't talk about smoking," Mr. Yocum said, recalling Mr. Clinton's visit to Carrollton during the 1992 presidential campaign.
"I don't know why he's got to talk about it now."
Mr. Clinton carried Carroll County in the 1996 election, but voters also went with two Republicans that year. U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell of Louisville and U.S. Rep. Jim Bunning of Southgate also won the county.
"I think most people really like Bill Clinton, but they're worried about what he is going to do about tobacco," said Jackie Willhoite, who works in the county's finance office.
According to the White House, Mr. Clinton will arrive at the Cincinnati - Northern Kentucky International Airport at 9:15 a.m. After conducting the tobacco warehouse round table and speaking at the school assembly, he'll head back to the airport for a 2:35 p.m. departure time.
Airport spokesman Ted Bushelman met with Secret Service agents, White House officials and police from Carroll County and Carrollton on Tuesday to discuss the president's travel plans and the motorcade route.
"We just did this three weeks ago," Mr. Bushelman said, referring to Mr. Clinton's visit to Cincinnati last month to raise money for the Democratic primary.
Plans on who will greet Mr. Clinton at the airport, usually local Democratic officials and candidates, had not been made as of Tuesday, Mr. Bushelman said.
As the president's motorcade pulls off Interstate 71 and heads down Ky. 227 into Carrollton, he'll be greeted by signs at Hometown Pizza and Kentucky Fried Chicken, which are offering presidential specials.
