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Judge: covering on Confederate monument for protective purposes

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From the Parker County judge's office:

Protecting the confederate statue at the historical Parker County Courthouse is paramount as work begins to replace the courthouse roof.

Parker County Judge Mark Riley and Commissioner Larry Walden stressed the importance of protecting our heritage to contractors before the project began leading to the placement of a protective covering over the monument.

“We are going to have scaffolding all around the courthouse while we are working on the roof,” said Chad Sharp with Parson’s Roofing. “Working on a building this high we have to be mindful of what could fall. We don’t want to take the chance of anything falling down and damaging the monument. That statue is our heritage and we will protect it.”

Mobilization for work on the courthouse roof is beginning today.

“The confederate monument is a part of our heritage and it is our responsibility to protect it,” said Riley.

Walden said after months of dealing with the Texas Historical Commission seeking their approval, working through the grant process and dealing with numerous contractors and insurance claims, it is great that work is finally ready to begin.

“We all wish that it was as simple as hiring a contractor and beginning the work, but that is not the case when you are dealing with a historical building,” Walden said. “We are taking actions during the process to ensure that there will be no damage whatsoever to any of the monuments we are adding protective covering to the confederate monument. We will be taking the historical markers and flag poles down as well to ensure we don’t damage anything.”

Riley said some constituents called his office as they saw the statue being measured for the protective casing.

“We started receiving some calls from folks who were worried we were moving the statue,” Riley said. “We are not removing or moving the statue. We are only protecting it. That statue belongs on the lawn of the Parker County Courthouse where it was placed in 1929 after years of fundraising by the Parker County Daughters of the Confederacy.”

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