INSIDE: Sports plus pizza equal new Freeland business. A8
Record South Whidbey
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 22, 2012 | Vol. 88, No. 67 | www.SOUTHWHIDBEYRECORD.com | 75¢
Fairly flying for finish
After 9 years, justice served as Huden gets 80 years By JESSIE STENSLAND Staff reporter
program,” Brandon said. “Due to our name change, I ordered 1,500 passports, we ran out Friday afternoon and wound up using leftover Island County Fair ones until we could get another emergency print run of 500. We also ran out of this year’s prizes and had to use leftovers from last year, so that was a hit.” The Timebenders, a band that plays Beatles and other old tunes, has become a Whidbey Island Fair staple with fans and this year was no exception. “The Timebenders had an absolutely magnificent audience Saturday night and kept the crowd present and dancing following a beautiful sunset,” Brandon said. Sunday was another “stellar day,” as Brandon recalls. “A perfect storm of weather kept it cooler, with intermittent sunshine and everywhere I went, a sea of smiling faces.”
The man who planned and carried out a murder on a secluded South Whidbey road at Christmastime nine years ago finally faced justice in a courtroom Tuesday morning. James Huden sat stone-faced during the sentencing hearing in Island County Superior Court as the judge handed down an exceptional sentence of 80 years, virtually guaranteeing that the 55-year-old will die in prison. He stared without emotion as family members of the victim, 32-yearold Russel Douglas, addressed him and explained how his murderous act changed their lives irrevocably. He was silent as they pleaded with him to explain why he committed the murder and to name who else was involved. Following a trial in July, a jury found Huden guilty of first-degree murder while armed with a firearm, plus an aggravating factor that allows the judge to impose an exceptional sentence beyond the standard range. Namely, the jury found that Douglas was particularly vulnerable because he was unsuspecting and seat-belted in his vehicle when he was shot between the eyes. Huden’s alleged accomplice, former beauty queen Peggy Sue Thomas, has also been charged with murder for allegedly luring Douglas to Wahl Road in Freeland with the promise of a “gift” for his wife. She is scheduled to go to trial in November. Tuesday, Island County Prosecutor Greg Banks asked the judge to impose an exceptional sentence of 80 years in prison, which is two and a half times the top of the standard sentencing range. “Mr. Huden deserves an exceptional sentence for an exceptionally malevolent crime,” Banks said. Banks said that Huden has done nothing to warrant mercy. The prosecutor offered him a plea bargain in exchange for information about the crime, but he refused to cooperate. Banks explained that his reasoning
See fair, A11
See Huden, A6
Justin Burnett / The Record
Ardea Batiste, competing in the senior division, rides Hope in the two-barrel flags event Saturday at the Whidbey Island Fair in Langley. A member of the South Whidbey Centaurs Horse 4-H Club, Ardea took second in the shotgun flag race.
Performances, food, records wrap up fair By Record staff
The Whidbey Island Fair ended Sunday with the sun breaking through as the final acts took to the Eva Mae Gabelein Midway Stage. The weekend was cooler than predicted after a hot fair opening on Thursday and nearsweltering weather on Friday. But temperatures stayed warm and nary a raindrop fell to dampen the spirits of any creature, human or otherwise. While throngs attended for fun, many didn’t forget the needier members of the island community. “Thursday started very well with the halfprice admission food drive, which added 1,109 pounds of food to the Good Cheer Food Bank,” said volunteer Shawn Nowlin. This far exceeds the take in 2011. How much was collected during the four days from the carnival pre-sale redemption has not yet been determined. “The heat drove families home in the
afternoon while the veggie critters melted like the Wicked Witch, and we never recovered,” said Sandey Brandon, fair manager, speaking of the first two fair days. The forecast for Friday must have kept a lot of people home, Brandon theorized, “so going into the weekend, we were way down at the gate and food booths. Everyone was wondering if the fair would ‘happen’.” The fair’s fortunes turned quickly, however. Brandon described Saturday as a “remarkable recovery that generated the largest single-day gate we have had in at least 20 years.” Even with significant discounts for military, the Les Schwab discounts and Facebook coupons, gate purchases exceeded $32,000, she said. “Food vendors ran out of nearly everything and most were extremely happy. It’s hard to make up in one day, though, for two slower days,” Brandon noted. “We had a powerful number of youngsters who participated in our passport to adventure