BURT HUNTER: I challenge Mayor Rick Edwards to turn himself in, face his very serious drug charges.

Buckhannon’s famous lawyer, Burt Hunter, has openly called for Mayor Rick Edwards to “face his very serious drug charges,” and “turn himself in.”

“Folks; I do not believe in rumor, or whispers, of ‘political dirty tricks,'” Hunter exclaimed in a Facebook post, “I would not print this post if I did not believe it is fully grounded in fact.

I have known every mayor since JD Hinkle, and this story is an insult to every one of them and their families.

I have two friends running for mayor, and I wish both well. Also friends on the council, but I am not active in local politics.

But I have a business on Main St. Have for 40 years. We raised our children here.

The State of WV was already a laughing stock for its racial bias for voting for an incarcerated convict over Barack Obama in a primary a few years ago. I have done some checking to verify this story, and the full story seems to be worse that what has been printed here.

As for “lies and political motives”, I challenge this guy to turn himself in and face his very serious drug charges in the state he fled from.

Too bad that with 70,000 outstanding warrants Texas cannot afford to send two State Troopers, with three return plane tickets to extradite. Then the truth could come out.

I know the story that our mayor was a drug fighting hero of some kind. The arresting officer in Texas got a laugh out of that one.

Whether you believe in legalizing pot or not, it sure wasn’t legal in Texas in 2012!

It appears we have an escaped fugitive as our mayor. What’s with that?

Please do not vote for this guy until you are satisfied that he is not a drug dealer, or fleeing accused felon.

Perhaps we could take up a collection for a bus ticket to justice? And, why we are at it, does anyone wonder at the muted failure of our local newspaper [The Record Delta] to look into this extraordinary situation that is making statewide news? When I last looked, there is something called ‘investigative journalism’. The editor calls the shots on stories like this; not the field reporters. Let’s hear some interviews, not just from the accused, but the arresting officer. What did he find? Was bail set? Did anyone miss an appearance? Is there a prior criminal history? Is it really a misdemeanor AND felony charge? Prior charges? Prior convictions? Where did he used to live, go to school? Lots of questions when someone comes to town and asks you to ‘trust me.’”

Hunter has been a practicing lawyer for over 40 years, and has handled nearly 3,000 family law cases.