RECORD SOUTH WHIDBEY
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2011 | Vol. 87, No. 76 | WWW.SOUTHWHIDBEYRECORD.COM | 75¢
INSIDE: Leaders of the pack, Sports, A6
Defense attorney asks to see emails on murder case First-degree murder trial delayed until March 2012 BY BRIAN KELLY South Whidbey Record
COUPEVILLE — The attorney defending accused killer James “Jim” Huden is asking a Superior Court judge to order Island County Prosecutor Greg Banks to hand over internal emails in which Banks bickered with the county sheriff over what Banks called a flawed investigation into the 2003 murder of Russel Douglas. Detectives claim Huden shot Douglas in the head as he sat is his car at a
remote Freeland property, waiting to pick up a Christmas gift for his wife. Earlier this month, the Record reported that local authorities have been looking at three suspects in the case — Huden and his mistress, Peggy Sue Thomas, and Brenna Douglas, the wife of the murder victim — and the newspaper published details of emails where Banks and then-sheriff Mike Hawley fought over the timing of an arrest warrant for Huden that would bring the fugitive into custody. During a hearing Monday in Island County Superior Court, Peter Simpson, Huden’s attorney, said he should be given copies of the emails that the news-
paper had obtained. “They may be pertinent to the defense,” Simpson told Judge Alan Hancock. Banks, however, noted that the emails — which were traded between Banks and Hawley in early 2005, following the initial completion of the murder investigation — were confidential emails between an attorney and his client. Banks said one email was “apparently improperly and probably unlawfully released to the South Whidbey Record,” and discounted the veracity of the email’s contents. SEE MURDER, A24
Allderdice is city’s pick to fill empty council seat
FD3 looks The undefeated at possible levy lid lift
BY BRIAN KELLY South Whidbey Record
BY BEN WATANABE South Whidbey Record
FREELAND — The crossroad is coming, and Island County Fire District 3 officials know it. Revenues are not matching expenses, despite several years of cutbacks and efficiency moves. The deficit may be too great by 2014, and Fire Chief Rusty Palmer has been talking with fire commissioners about a levy lid lift that would raise property taxes to bring more money into the district. “We’re kind of on a collision course between our revenues and our expenses,” Palmer said. “If we get to 2014, we’re in trouble. The good news is it’s predictable,” he said. As property values have decreased on South Whidbey, so have the fire district’s tax revenues. Officials estimated the district lost almost $200,000 in revenue the past couple of years. “We too are on a fixed income, like many of the people we protect,” Palmer said. “The dilemma for us is we don’t have a lot of options, other than the lid lift to go SEE LEVY, A24
Brian Kelly / The Record
Michael “The Bull” Nelson and John “Sweet Pea” Pultro contemplate their next opponents after finishing first in their early heat at the Langley Soup Box Derby on Saturday.
Hundreds of spectators lined First Street in Langley for the annual Soup Box Derby race on Saturday. Riding a racer pulled from the rafters of the Dog House, where it’s been hanging for nine years, John Pultro and Michael Nelson continued the cart’s unbeaten streak. “We got the privilege of driving an antique,” Pultro said. “It handles a lot better than it looks.”
Brian Kelly / The Record
Attorney Peter Simpson asks for a continuance in the start date of the murder trial for James “Jim” Huden during a court hearing Monday in Coupeville.
Gary Piper rides his outhouse to a first-place finish against Peter Lawlor in his “ripe old banana” racer.
LANGLEY — Experience may have been the edge. The Langley City Council unanimously picked Doug Allderdice as the city’s newest councilman at the council meeting Monday evening. What’s old is new again, however. Allderdice isn’t a stranger to city hall, having served on the council from 2000 to 2006. Council members chose the retired physician over Bruce Allen, an Army retiree, after a 20-minute question-and-answer session that toggled between the two candidates. Allderdice and Allen were asked the same eight ques-
tions, which ranged from what they thought were the top issues facing the city, to their experience working with groups such as the council, and how to allow for growth while keeping the city’s vistas and rural character. The pair kept their answers short and relatively vague, and both said the city needed to improve the economy by building on the town’s tourist base. Allderdice and Allen both said the city needs to grow in a way that retains Langley’s charm. Allderdice said Langley needed “a stable, steady, dependable, predictable city SEE COUNCIL, A3
Brian Kelly / The Record
Doug Allderdice takes the oath of office at Monday’s Langley council meeting.