Editor, Gazette-Journal:

I attended the Dec. 6 public hearing at Mathews High School auditorium by the Mathews Board of Supervisors about the fate of the Confederate war memorial.

I left with the following conclusion: with a very small group that feels otherwise, the general (80%) desire of the county is to preserve the monument where it is; just leave it alone.

However, what is also clear is the division of ownership of the monument: county or private corporation dedicated to the preservation of the monument.

It is basically a question of trust. Do we trust the government to protect the monument, or do we trust an entity dedicated to its preservation? For my part, watching what happened in Richmond and in Surry County, I will not trust government and will put my trust in a private corporation.

Robert PetersenMathews, Va.
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