News-Times Whidbey
SPORTS: Wildcats head to postseason. A9
SATURDAY, JANUARY 26, 2013 | Vol. 114, No. 8 | www.whidbeynewstimes.com | 75¢
Do-si-do on Whidbey
Jessie Stensland / Whidbey News-Times
Peggy Sue Thomas pleads to rendering criminal assistance.
Thomas pleads to lesser offense Kathy Reed/Whidbey News-Times
Skirts flare as dancers twirl around the floor at the Coupeville Recreation Hall during one of the Whidbey Whirlers’ regular Saturday night dances. Below, a couple of Whirlers show off their moves.
SWING YOUR PARTNER
Whidbey Whirlers offers lessons on traditional square dancing By KATHY REED Staff reporter
It’s toe-tapping fun that has been on Whidbey Island for 40 years, and members of the Whidbey Whirlers would like to share the pleasure of square dancing with anyone who’s willing to learn. “It’s fun set to music,” said square dance fan Harold Gates, 87. “Square dancing is not only a lot of fun, but it’s great exercise and it’s good for mental acuity, too, because you have to pay attention to the calls,” said Bob Berka. He and his wife, Linda, are co-presidents of the Whidbey Whirlers. The roots of square dancing go way back. Its closest European cousin might be the Morris, which is performed by six men arranged in two rows of three, but there are also touches of the quadrille, the schottische and the minuet. It’s thought that square dancing was born in New England after the first settlers arrived and all their various national dances got mixed together. Today square dancing, which features four couples arranged in a square, is an American institution. It is the state dance of 19 states, Washington included. In our country’s early years, square dancing was a great social event for pioneers who needed recreation and a way to socialize with neighbors. It was easy to scare up someone with a guitar or violin and nearly every community had a wooden floor somewhere. If there was no caller available, couples would do the dances from memory. As America grew and became more urban, new music, new fashions and new dances nearly wiped out square dancing. However, automaker Henry Ford helped revive it by giving it an overhaul of sorts, making it more contempo-
rary while still retaining the basics. Square dancing clubs began to form all over the country and its members helped keep the dance alive by sharing it with others. That’s the goal of the Whidbey Whirlers, which was formed in May, 1942, and other area square dancing clubs. Bob and Linda Berka got into dancing several years ago thanks to some persistent neighbors. “Our neighbors came over and told us they’d found a babysitter so we were to get our duds on because we were leaving in 10 minutes,” said Linda. “What do you do when the babysitter is bought and paid for?” Although Linda liked square dancing right away, Bob took a little more convincing. “I saw them practicing round dance, which is patterned ballroom dancing,” he said. “At that point, they had me hook, line and sinker.” Today it is the social aspect of the dance that draws so many to it, Bob believes. “There is a connection with people that you just can’t get anywhere else,” he said. See whirlers, A4
Beauty queen, accused murderer was set to go to trial next week By JESSIE STENSLAND Staff reporter
A former beauty queen pleaded guilty to a plea-bargained charge Thursday, less than a week before she was scheduled to go on trial for first-degree murder. Peggy Sue Thomas, 47, will likely face four years in prison when she’s sentenced Feb. 15 in Island County Superior Court. Thomas pleaded guilty to rendering criminal assistance in the first degree, with a special allegation that she or her accomplice was armed with a firearm during the commission of the crime. The firearms allegation adds an automatic three years to the sentence. Island County Prosecutor Greg Banks said in court that the trial posed “a substantial risk” for both the prosecution and defense. He said his case was based on circumstantial evidence and hearsay testimony. The judge had still not ruled on whether the prosecutor would be able to present crucial evidence to the jury, while a vital witness was recently admitted to a hospital. “I believe there are items of evidence that will probably never see the light of day that convinced me my case is just,” he said.
Rather than risk an acquittal or a hung jury, Banks agreed to the plea bargain. He said the family of the victim, 32-year-old Russel Douglas, approved of the deal. Thomas appeared glum, but otherwise showed little emotion during the hearing. Her attorney, Craig Platt, chose not to speak about the plea bargain. Banks will recommend that the judge impose a fouryear sentence, which is the maximum under the standard range. The plea bargain was an anticlimactic end to a family’s tragedy and a complex whodunnit that detectives with the Island County Sheriff’s Office unraveled over a matter of years. Douglas was found dead, buckled in the front seat of his Chevrolet Tracker, next to a wooded driveway on Wahl Road near Freeland two days after Christmas of 2003. The father of two had been shot in the head. Detectives developed evidence that James “Jim” See thomas, A4