Editor, Gazette-Journal:

My wife and I love living in Mathews. My three (grown) sons were raised here and will always call this place home. I have worked here for 25 years in the woods and on the water. We consider ourselves very lucky to be part of this community and want very much to see Mathews County thrive and grow responsibly in the foreseeable future.

I have watched the public’s interest and heard the discussions about dredging Put-In Creek wax and wane over the years, like the rise and fall of the tide.

I knew Wayne Hudgins, rest his soul, and I think he was really on to something. He recognized the unique situation and opportunity that we have and I think that we owe it to ourselves and to our children to keep the discussion about Put-In Creek alive.

It is not news to anyone reading this letter that Mathews has a rich history of shipbuilding, hard-working watermen and a very special place on the Chesapeake Bay. But whether we like it or not, things are changing...