A public hearing on the Confederate monument and the county-owned land it sits on was once again delayed by the Mathews County Board of Supervisors Tuesday night. Instead, the board voted unanimously to hold a public hearing on the general idea of giving public land to private entities. The hearing will be held during the September meeting, which was rescheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 21, at 6 p.m. in the historic courthouse.

The board also voted unanimously to claim the monument itself, and not just the land under it, as county property.

Supervisor Dave Jones made both motions after a number of residents spoke during public comment period on both sides of the issue of whether the land under the monument should be conveyed to local chapters of the Sons of the Confederate Veterans (SCV) and the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC).

Members of the SCV pointed to former Gov. Ralph Northam as the culprit in stirring up trouble over the monument, with Bobby Dobson of Cobbs Cree...