Record South Whidbey
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SATURDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2015 | Vol. 91, No. 82 | WWW.SOUTHWHIDBEYRECORD.COM | 75¢
Clinton woman faces murder charge in California By JUSTIN BURNETT South Whidbey Record An elderly Clinton woman traveled to her sister’s house in California carrying a handgun, zip ties and duct tape and a letter describing her wishes to be cremated. She then shot and killed her sibling before the gun was wrestled from her hands, according to a police report on the incident. The motive, the report indicates, was a
longtime family dispute over an inheritance. Linda Thomas, 71, was scheduled for arraignment Friday in Richmond Superior Court in California on a murder charge in the shooting death of Zonna Thomas, 69, but a judge agreed to delay it until next week. The charge carries three enhancements: personal and intentional discharge of a firearm for bodily harm, a special allegation for murder lying in wait and a special allegation for felony
burglary resulting in murder. Rachel Piersig, a deputy district attorney with the Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office, said Linda Thomas is also facing charges of attempted murder, burglary and two counts of elder abuse, each of which have their own special enhancements. Linda Thomas is being held in Martinez Detention Facility. This is a special circumstances case, so no bail has been set.
Ten months later, lights still off in some Old Clinton cabins
According to court documents, Zonna Thomas was shot in the head with a .38 caliber handgun shortly after midnight Oct. 17 in her home in Rodeo, a small city in the San Francisco Bay Area. Linda Thomas, who had arrived at the house earlier that day from Whidbey Island, was arrested by Contra County police at the residence. SEE MURDER, A22
Saving trees at campground a concern at first planning meeting By EVAN THOMPSON South Whidbey Record
on our own is so crazy and expensive we won’t do it,” said Jeff Bakeman, a Freeland resident who owns a cabin just north of the slide path. The utility did not respond to requests for comment made to the communication’s department on Thursday. The cabins are located on Campers Row
The fate of overnight camping at South Whidbey State Park is on its way to being decided. The start of what will likely become an eight- to 10-month process in determining the longterm plan for South Whidbey State Park began Wednesday night when the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission held its first planning process meeting. Earlier this year, tree rot and disease led the state to ban overnight stays at the Freeland park for safety concerns. What to do with the state park in the future was the question of the night at the Whidbey Water Services building in Freeland. State Parks staff compiled the written notes of attendees’ thoughts, concerns, and hopes for how the loss of overnight camping should be handled and then read them aloud so all voices could be heard. State Parks Planner Randy Kline counted about 45 people at the meeting. The handling of rotting trees, day-use camping, trails, and neighboring property owner issues were among the topics brought up. “There’s a lot of strong feelings around how the campground issue should be handled,” Kline said. The baseline goal of the first meeting was getting a feel for the issues surrounding the state park, as well as two of the other proposed locations that have not undergone the campground process,
SEE CABINS, A23
SEE PARK, A24
Justin Burnett / The Record
A handful of summer cabins in Clinton are still without power after bluff slides knocked out infrastructure this past December. Residents and the electric company have yet to agree on a solution.
PSE won’t restore power without owner support By JUSTIN BURNETT South Whidbey Record A small group of beachfront property owners with cabins that survived a series of destructive bluff slides in Old Clinton earlier this year are facing a new headache — the potential for a permanent loss of power. Five cabin owners have been without electricity since the slides occurred, which began
in December and continued through March, destroying two cabins, severely damaging another and temporarily restricting access to a fourth. Fearing another event will occur in the historically-slide-prone area, Puget Sound Energy officials are unwilling to restore power as it was and property owners are worried they’ll be stuck in the dark for good. “The solution they’re proposing for us to do