NORTH BEND — The clock began ticking Wednesday morning: Bill Clinton was coming.

He’d be there soon.

While children made signs to greet the president, and officials at North Bend Middle School — where Clinton was featured — worked with staffers from the Hillary Clinton campaign to prepare the site, North Bend Police were worrying “how best could they protect the dignitary?”

“I thought ‘Oh boy. We’ve got a lot of work to do,’” said North Bend Police Chief Steve Scibelli, reflecting on last week’s events.

Although celebrities have definitely come through North Bend during Scibelli’s six-year career with the city, “I don’t think we’ve had a dignitary of his stature” who needed protection, he said.

The 42nd president planned to visit the school Friday night to campaign for presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., in her fight for the Democratic nomination. That meant local law enforcement had to step it up to protect him, as well as the thousands of people expected to attend.

As the lead agency on the event, beneath the Secret Service, North Bend Police recruited Coos Bay officers to provide security, as North Bend only employs 17 officers.

“You always worry, ‘Do you have enough personnel to cover an event like this?’” Scibelli said. “These guys have all been policemen for a really long time and all have common sense. We are blessed here on the coast with professional law enforcement.”

With 16 officers — eight from each agency — covering Clinton’s arrival, speech and departure, and three Oregon State Police troopers to help handle regular service calls in the city, Scibelli said the entire undertaking went off without a hitch. Another three North Bend officers were on duty for regular patrols.

“It was a surprise that he came but, I thought that both North Bend and Coos Bay were up to the task and (it) went really smooth,” Scibelli said.

On Thursday, members of the Secret Service began arriving in town, Scibelli said, and worked closely with North Bend Police to map out any contingency. That meant setting up a quick route to Bay Area Hospital if the former president or an audience member took ill, searching the middle school for bombs and hazardous materials, and checking out the Southwest Oregon Regional Airport for any issues.

“There wasn’t really anything that came up that we hadn’t basically planned for,” Scibelli said.

At about 5 p.m., Friday, North Bend police and the Secret Service swept the school for bombs, with a bomb dog from Medford to assist. Nothing was found. Upon completing the sweep, officers were briefed on their jobs for the night and went to approximately 12 posts on the campus.

Officers also were assigned to the motorcade that brought Clinton from and to the airport. After Clinton arrived at about 7 p.m. he was brought to the school by motorcade. Scibelli said a North Bend Police cruiser led the pack, with a Coos Bay car as the caboose. Two identical, unmarked Chevrolet Suburbans held the president and Secret Service agents.

“The windows were dark so you (couldn’t) see inside,” Scibelli said.

Officers also manned the back of the school where the president and his vehicles would be, Scibelli said, and police didn’t take their eyes off those cars for a minute.

“They had to be watched the entire time,” he said.

Starting at 3:10 p.m. Friday, hundreds of people lined up outside of the school. As of 6:40 that night, when doors opened, a line of 900 people stretched along several blocks of E Street, almost reaching Ohio Street.

While people waited in line, eating pizza, playing card games and talking politics, North Bend Officer Shane Dunning stood by and watched the proceedings. Standing next to his cruiser, Dunning said he’d experienced no problems.

“The crowd is pretty positive. I think they’re excited to see Mr. Clinton speak,” Dunning said that night, adding he wouldn’t get to see Clinton speak. “That’s what I get paid for.”

North Bend Officer Jerry Merritt, who manned a door to the gymnasium, said he and other officers watched for strange bulges in clothing and extreme behavior, but no one was being frisked.

In all, the event drew 2,072 people from the community, all of whom packed into the school gym. Despite the close quarters and the stifling heat, no one fainted and no one got out of hand, Scibelli said.

“Everybody was very respectful of our requests,” the chief said.  “The crowd was just very well behaved. There (weren’t) any hecklers. ... People were very polite and respectful. It really made the people from the area look good.”

If something had occurred to evoke officers’ suspicions, they would have reported it via the radio. A four-person arrest team had been set up to deal with people who got out of hand.

“To my knowledge we never had to address it,” Scibelli said. He added the Secret Service chose not to employ a metal detector or other safety device because, as there were no threats to warrant that. “They felt the ring of security that was around him was adequate.”

The hospital

Bonnie Barron, the director of public relations and marketing for Bay Area Hospital, said she and security personnel reviewed the hospital’s VIP policy and procedure, in case the former president needed medical care. And while about half a dozen security members, herself, the vice president of human resources and a nursing supervisor were on hand in case of a problem, no issues came from the Clinton event. She added that Secret Service members did visit the hospital on Thursday.

“They do what they do and that’s why they are called the Secret Service,” Barron said. “We are always prepared for any event such as a natural disaster or an emergency response or a VIP coming to the hospital.”

The school

Principal Vince Swagerty said he also helped deal with security issues, including providing a map of the campus and a full set of keys to unlock every door and gate. Additionally, he and North Bend Superintendent BJ Hollensteiner had to submit to background checks before greeting Clinton at the back of the school.

“In that area, there were law enforcement people everywhere before the president showed up,” Swagerty said. “I couldn’t count how many Secret Service agents there were, but there were a lot.”

He said two agents came to the campus on Thursday.

“They had everything covered, every contingency,” he said. “Everyone of these folks, every single one that was part of the process, they were very kind, very helpful, very professional.”

Hollensteiner said she also was pleased with how well local police agencies and the Secret Service worked together to put on a smooth event.

“They did all of the things that they were supposed to have done,” Hollensteiner said.

Following the event, Swagerty said he is highly impressed with local law enforcement.

 “I don’t know that I’ve felt more secure than I did the other night,” Swagerty said.

“They were all ready to go in the worst-case scenario, which of course didn’t happen, but that’s why they were there.”