ELYRIA — President Barack Obama is scheduled to make his highly anticipated visit in Lorain County today.

Obama will hold a town hall meeting this afternoon at Lorain County Community College’s field house and will make other stops as well, but the White House was delaying releasing the other stops on his itinerary.

In addition to his previously announced town hall meeting at Lorain County Community College, Obama is also expected to visit sports equipment manufacturer Riddell in Elyria. Other stops are also on the president’s itinerary, but the White House hadn’t announced those Thursday.

Lorain County Commissioner Ted Kalo said he hopes Obama also will visit the college’s wind turbine program, which focuses on teaching students how to work on turbines. It’s a chance, Kalo said, to show the president the county’s efforts to be part of the green manufacturing industry.

“His visit will give us a chance to showcase what we’re doing and for him to see the challenges we face here,” Kalo said.

The Washington Post reported online that Obama had scheduled a visit to that facility.

Obama’s visit to the county is the second stop on the President’s “White House to Main Street” tour, and Obama plans to spend the day in the county meeting with workers, small business owners and local leaders, many of whom plan to attend the town hall meeting.

About 900 people have tickets to attend.

Ticket handout at LCCC from Whitehouse.gov:

Elyria police Capt. Duane Whitely warned that traffic throughout the city will be disrupted by Obama’s visit, but that he couldn’t release details because of security concerns.

“We will not close any road any longer than we have to,” he said.

North Abbe Road south of Cobblestone Square shopping center will be closed starting at around noon. Burns Road also will be closed for part of the day, Whitely said.

The city’s uncertain traffic patterns led Elyria Schools to cancel school for the day, the district announced Thursday. The college also has canceled classes during the day, but evening classes and events will go forward as scheduled.

The college said in a news release that the school’s north entrance off Abbe Road will be closed starting at 9 a.m. and the south entrance on Abbe Road will close around noon. Anyone on campus after noon will not be allowed to leave until after 4 p.m., the release said.

Those who have tickets to the town hall meeting at the college are being asked to arrive at campus before 11 a.m. Those with tickets will park in one area, while those who plan to attend live broadcasts in the Stocker Arts Center and Spitzer Conference Center will be asked to park in other lots.

Several parking lots and campus buildings are being closed for security reasons and those attending the town hall will have to pass through airport-like security. Bags, umbrellas, strollers, liquids, sharp objects and signs will not be permitted inside the field house.

LCCC Obama preparation from Whitehouse.gov:

A special area has been set aside for protesters. Known as the “free speech area,” it is on the college’s south side, near the open parking lots.

Among those who plan to be there to express his dissatisfaction is Mike Hellyar with the Lorain NorthShore Patriots.

He said he and others who plan to attend from his group aren’t happy with the direction Obama is taking the nation on issues like health care.

“Our main message would be listen to the people,” he said.

David Arredondo, vice chairman of the Lorain County Republican Party, said he welcomes Obama, even if he doesn’t see eye-to-eye with the president.

“We’re a little leery of his policies,” he said.

Watch the president

Watch video of President Barack Obama’s visit live on Chroniclet.com. Or go to one of a number of locations where LCCC will be showing live video.

Lorain County Community College will provide a live broadcast of the event from several campus locations, including the Lorain County Growth Partnership Learning Center at the County Administration building on the fifth floor in room 555 starting at 1 p.m.

The broadcasts are open to everyone on a first-come, first-served basis.

For more information, contact Margaret Box at mbox@lorainccc.edu or (440) 328-2373.

Broadcast locations include:

• Stocker Arts Center Main Theatre (main campus)
• Spitzer Conference Center Grand Room (main campus)
• LCCC Learning Center at St. Joseph Community Center (Lorain)
• LCCC Wellington Learning Center (Wellington)
• Midpoint Campus Center in (Brunswick)

Contact Brad Dicken at 329-7147 or bdicken@chroniclet.com.

Rick Noland

The Chronicle-Telegram

CLEVELAND — The Cavaliers will be without point guard Mo Williams for four-to-six weeks due to a sprained left shoulder.

Williams suffered the injury Tuesday against Toronto, but returned to action.

The All-Star point guard was examined by Cavaliers head team physician Dr. Richard Parker and the Cleveland Clinic’s Dr. Mark Schickendantz. He also underwent an MRI at Cleveland Clinic Sports Health.

The Cavaliers planned on starting Delonte West in place of Williams on Thursday night against the defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers.

LORAIN — A bomb threat to the Lorain Schools early this morning brought out precautionary measures as the school day got under way in buildings throughout the district.

The threat, Lorain Schools Superintendent Cheryl Atkinson described as “generic” and not relating to any specific building, was called in to 911, and the schools were notified about it by the Lorain Police Department a little after 5 a.m.

In each of two calls, a deep-voiced male caller tells a 911 operator there is a bomb in the Lorain Schools. In the first call, he says the bomb will go off at 10 a.m. In a second call, he demands Lorain Schools be closed. The operator tries to persuade him to stay on the line for police, but he disconnects.

Listen to the 911 calls:

Call 1:

Call 2:

Police and district staff inspected and secured all buildings prior to the start of the school day, and inspected all adults and students as they entered the buildings, and the school day got under way with little delay, Atkinson said.

The district had early dismissal due to a professional development day today, and the day wound down without incident.

“Other than a little bit of inconvenience, with everyone going in one door (at each buildling), we really didn’t have any issues,” Atkinson said. “We started on time, ended dismissed on time and had a great day. I have a great staff, and praise them for stepping up. Everybody did their part.”

The district let parents know about the incident through a voice mail, according to the district. Some schools allowed parents to keep their children out for the day without being penalized for the absence, but those decisions were made on a school-by-school basis.

Lorain police will handle the investigation into the threat, according to Atkinson.

Then candidate Barack Obama speaks Feb. 24, 2008, during a visit to National Gypsum in Lorain. (Photo by Chuck Humel, The Chronicle-Telegram.)

ELYRIA — People have been lining up since 1 this afternoon at the Lorain County Community College Stocker Center box office to get tickets to see President Barack Obama speak Friday, and placeholder tickets are now being handed out.

The placeholder tickets allow ticketholders to leave or roam about freely rather than stand in line. People with placeholder tickets are being told to return at 5:30 to exchange the placeholders for actual tickets.

The actual tickets for President Barack Obama’s Friday town hall meeting at Lorain County Community College are being handed out from 6 to 9 p.m.

Tickets are being made available on a first-come, first-served basis from 6 to 9 p.m. today at the college’s Stocker Center box office, according to the college’s Web site.

There are a limited number of tickets and a limit of two per person.

The event will be held at the LCCC Field House and doors will open at 11 a.m. Those attending must be in the Field House by 1 p.m., the Web site said.

Airport-like security will be in place, and those attending are asked to bring as few personal items as possible. Bags, sharp objects, umbrella, liquids, strollers and signs will be barred from the event, the Web site said.

Cameras will be allowed inside.

The White House has said Obama will spend the day in the Lorain County area discussing jobs and the economy.

Visit the LCCC Web site for more info on the visit and and map of where to pick up tickets.

Read Wednesday’s Chronicle for more details on Obama’s visit to Lorain County.