By Cindi Andrews
The Cincinnati Enquirer

There's preparedness - then there's canceling a class field trip to Union Terminal.

Some local governments and schools are piling on the antiterrorism precautions because of the nation's return to an orange - or high - threat level Monday and the launch of strikes against Iraq.

While asking for vigilance, emergency management officials also are cautioning local agencies not to go overboard. On Wednesday, Gov. Bob Taft urged residents to continue their daily routines.

Even so, the West Clermont Local School District canceled elementary field trips and out-of-state high school trips until March 28, said spokeswoman Wendy Planicka.

Willowville Elementary's fourth-graders were scheduled to visit the Main Library and Union Terminal today but the trip was canceled Wednesday. It can be rescheduled, Principal Laura Nazzarine said.

"With war, the anxiety level is raised," she said, "so rather than have parents who are not feeling secure about where their children were, we could do it at another time."

Local officials are learning day by day what the alerts mean for them and how to react, said Don Maccarone, director of the county Emergency Management Agency.

No specific threats have been directed to our region, he said.

If there were an attack here, places of assembly such as Union Terminal and the stadiums are the most likely targets, said Jerry Lautz, who as Regional Medical Response System coordinator is responsible for uniting the efforts of 21 Tristate counties.

The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County warned its 900 employees Wednesday that the library would likely close if the alert goes to red - the top level.

"What we were really attempting to do with that memo was reassure staff that we were monitoring the situation," Executive Director Kimber Fender said.

It would take an awful lot to close Warren County buildings, said Frank Young, director of emergency management there.

"We're not going to shut down the people's government," he said.

Still, Warren County has taken precautions this week, such as blocking the drive at the Administration Building's front entrance and restricting building access to just one entrance.

Young's office is getting calls from some anxious residents, and he's urging them to keep the threat in perspective. The region has a greater chance of getting hit by a tornado than by terrorists, he said.

"People just need to take a deep breath and use their good old common sense. We can't let the threat of terrorism terrorize us."

Cindy Kranz contributed.

E-mail candrews@enquirer.com