| Place a Classified | Subscribe today | July 6, 2009 |
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Weather delays some flights
jhancock@journalnet.com
POCATELLO -- Bob Clay sat alone in the waiting area of Pocatello Regional Airport on Saturday, talking a cell phone to his wife and waiting for friends to pick him up. Clay was headed home, planning to catch Skywest Airlines' 3:17 p.m. flight to Salt Lake City until the plane, which also services a route between Utah's capitol and Twin Falls, was stuck in the Southern part of the Gem State. "It couldn't take off from Twin Falls because of weather," said Sabrina Hunt, a Skywest Airlines customer service agent in Pocatello.
Hunt said Clay was one of six people who had to book a new flight because of the cancellation. Clay, who is originally from Pocatello and graduated from Pocatello High School, said he was hopeful that he might spend a couple of hours socializing with friends before catching Skywest's 7:05 p.m. departure.
As he waited for his friend to pick him up, Clay said he was already aware the flight had a one-hour delay. "The weather is pretty tough right now," he said, recalling his trip to the Gate City earlier in the day.
Clay's father was visiting him and his family in Centerville, Utah, during the holidays. He wanted to make sure his father made it home safely. "It took us an hour and 45 minutes to get from Centerville to Brigham City, (Utah)," Clay said. "That usually takes about 30 minutes."
Also in the sparsely populated airport on Saturday was Mary Dugger and her daughter, Anna Reed. They were renting a car to drive to Salt Lake City, where they would pick up a friend arriving on an Amtrak train early Sunday morning. Reed said she and her mother are comfortable driving in bad weather and poor road conditions. She said Mom would do the driving.
"She's actually calmer when she is driving," Reed said. "And I have become a professional navigator." Dugger said she is adamant about only driving as fast as conditions will allow.
"I'll drive 10 mph if that's as fast I feel is safe," she said. "I'll see cars whipping by me and about a mile up the road, they'll be in the ditch." Meanwhile, after a few minutes of waiting, Clay's friend, Richard Cullen, and his wife, Jackie, arrived to pick him up. Clay said if the 7:05 p.m. flight is canceled, he'll be fine for the night.
"I'll just stay the night at my dad's house," he said. By Jimmy Hancock
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