Editor, Gazette-Journal:

Last November, by a vote of over 80%, Mathews County voted to keep the Confederate War Memorial where it is. Since that time a minority has tried every means to overturn that vote as letters to this publication have shown.

The proposed transfer of the land under the memorial to historical groups such as the S.C.V. and U.D.C. has been attacked as illegal. One racially biased group, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, has threatened legal action. Whether that is possible or not I don’t know, but it is obvious that until the matter is resolved, tensions in our community will remain high.

The county may not be able to sell or cede the land in question, but it certainly can lease the land. A 99-year lease with an option for 99 years more would serve to take the matter out of the political arena and let us all get on with our lives. The alternative will be the creation of a rift in our community, and referendum after referendum a...