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Charter missing in action

By Staff | May 13, 2009

A month later and the charter for the Town of Friendly has still not been found.

At their Town Council meeting April 13, Luke Furbee, acting as legal counsel for the town, could not find the charter when researching the possibility of changing elections for town officers from every two years to every four years as a cost-saving measure.

After calling Charleston, it was discovered they didn’t have a copy of the charter either.

Furbee is now slowly working his way through the county’s older records housed on the second floor of the Tyler County Courthouse.

“There are some older records that are housed in the courthouse,” said Furbee. “They’re not very accessible, but that is probably where I’m going to look next.”

“We did get a call from Morgantown and they told us that back when Friendly was incorporated the county court did that,” explained Town Recorder Susan Stoneking-Webb. “They said our best bet would be to look in those files.”

Stoneking-Webb explained that there may be a better source to find the charter. Former Friendly Mayor Doug Williams, who is now a Sistersville City Council Member, may have knowledge as to the whereabouts of the missing charter. Until then Furbee says it could simply just be gone.

“There is a possibility though that it’s just simply lost,” said Furbee. “That happens, not just with things like that, but all sorts of things. It’s not like something that would be kept under armed guard like the Declaration of Independence. “

“The town has been there longer than any of us have been alive,” added Furbee. “It’s something we need to get straightened out, that’s all.”