By STEPHEN DICK, Herald Bulletin
This is a story about how a devastating tornado in Evansville affected events in Tel Aviv, Israel.
Mayor Kevin Smith, economic consultant Greg Winkler and Sam Pellegrino, a vice president at Old National Bank and board member for the Corporation for Economic Development, were all set to begin a week in Israel until Mother Nature played havoc. Now the trip has been postponed until the first of the year, according to Winkler.
“It’s quite a disappointment,” said Smith who, with his traveling companions, had boarded a Continental airlines plane Sunday, moved toward the runway and then sat.
They were scheduled to fly into Newark, N.J., and pick up a connecting flight to Tel Aviv. But Newark was closed due to stormy weather that had passed through Indiana earlier in the day.
The passengers returned to the airport and waited.
Then came the news that even if they got to Newark, the plane for Tel Aviv had already gone. Another chance to go wouldn’t arise until Tuesday. The group decided to head home.
“It wasn’t going to be the best use of our time,” said Smith. “We had meetings scheduled Monday and Tuesday and our presentation to a business seminar on Wednesday. All we would’ve had is the bulk of Wednesday and Thursday for the rest of the scheduled meetings.”
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