NORTH BEND — Portland, Salem, Eugene? Sure. But a former U.S. president in North Bend? At a middle school? That’s practically an anomaly. Like a force of nature, former U.S. President Bill Clinton is surging into town, and as of Thursday, North Bend Middle School has been abuzz with preparations and excitement.

Secret service agents have been checking out the school and the Southwest Oregon Regional Airport in preparation for his arrival.

“It’s pretty amazing because North Bend is a tiny town and not many important major things happen here,” said sixth-grader Markus Purkey.

Since learning of Clinton’s pending arrival, the 12-year-old and his classmates have been busy with scissors and construction paper to make red, white and blue posters to greet the former president. “(It’s) to support Bill Clinton’s arrival — to make him feel welcome.”

This morning, preparations were in full tilt as crews construct a stage, install lights and seating in the school’s gymnasium for the event, which kicks off when doors open at 7:45 p.m. North Bend is one of several stops on the campaign trail for the former president. He is touting presidential candidate, U.S. Senator and former first lady Hillary Clinton, who is fighting for the Democratic nomination. He will continue to push Hillary’s gospel on Saturday in Portland, Oregon City and Monmouth.

“This is kind of a hectic thing — for all the right reasons, though,” said North Bend Middle School Principal Vince Swagerty as he hurried through the halls of the school on Thursday afternoon.

Until Wednesday, Swagerty said he had no idea the campus would be part of the Clinton campaign. The principal said  event planners wanted an intimate, town hall-type atmosphere and found North Bend High School to be too large for their purposes.

“They wanted it to be cozy and tight and loud,” Swagerty said. “From that point in time to now, it’s felt like a whirlwind.”

The gym will hold about 1,000 people and an audio and video feed will be  set up for an overflow audience in the cafeteria, Swagerty said.

Walking into teacher Robert Monroe’s sixth-grade classroom, Swagerty showed off posters made by students that declared “Welcome Bill Clinton” in patriotic colors. Students were told of his pending visit Thursday morning.

“It’s pretty cool,” Swagerty said.

One young artist, Bryndon Ulmer, 13, said making the posters has been worth the trouble.

“I think it’s pretty neat that we can finally have a visitation of somebody as high as Bill Clinton is,” Bryndon said. Although he already aligns himself with the Republican party, Bryndon said he’d like to see the former Democratic president speak.

“I think it would be neat to see a president or a former president, because that’s something that won’t happen very often,” Bryndon said.

He said he’d vote for Republican party candidate John McCain if he were of age.

Voting and learning about the electoral process is exactly what middle school teacher Darren Sinko hopes his students will gain from the occasion.

“For me it’s an honor to have the former president speak at our school. As a U.S. history teacher — I teach U.S. government and how we elect our president — I can use this experience to help students understand our American democracy,” Sinko said, noting his students are fired up and seem to appreciate the significance of tonight’s event.

“They’re excited about it because he served as president. To them, he’s a celebrity, every bit as big as the Brad Pitts and the Tom Cruises. They look at it as a once in a lifetime opportunity to see and speak to someone that has achieved great things in their life.”

And, students have been able to experience what it means to have a former president on campus. Sinko said they’ve been questioning secret service agents, who have been unexpectedly patient and approachable.

“They aren’t Clint Eastwood-looking kind of characters, really,” Sinko said. “We have this impression that people protect the president and the former president. ... We just often think of big masculine guys, but that’s not always the case.”

Caught in this madhouse of education and preparation, Sinko said he’s been in shock over the upcoming visit, which he feels will put the middle school on the map.

“Normally people that are campaigning for president or campaigning on another’s behalf normally don’t come off of the I-5 corridor. We were really surprised that he was coming to North Bend and chose this site,” Sinko said, adding that getting Oregon voters to back Hillary Clinton is a smart move on the part of the Clinton campaign. “Since Hillary’s victory in Pennsylvania, Oregon, unlike in past primaries, is going to count.”

The instructor said he hasn’t done much with his students in preparation for the event, but he has encouraged them to see Bill Clinton because “he’s a great speaker and a great motivator.”

Sinko added that the visit says a lot about the Clinton campaign, as most candidates “just hit the Medfords and the Eugenes and Salem and Portland and ignore the rest of Oregon.”

“They want to get their message to all Oregonians, not just the metropolitan areas. I think that’s kind of cool,” Sinko said. “If Hillary and her campaign, they feel that North Bend and the coast is important enough to come and campaign and attract our vote, that might be enough to sway me  (to) vote for Hillary.”

Local dignitaries and city officials also plan to attend the event.

Sen. Joanne Verger, D-Coos Bay, said she will see Bill Clinton speak and believes he is the first former U.S. president to visit the community.

“It will certainly be a pleasure to meet and greet former President Clinton,” she said.

Mayor Rick Wetherell said it’s amazing that the politician will be in his city.

 “I think it’s a wonderful opportunity for us to be part of something as big as this election,” Wetherell said.  

North Bend Middle School is located at 1500 16th St. in North Bend. The event is free and open to the public.

For more information, those interested can visit www.hillaryclinton.com/northbend to RSVP.