Ray Deakins protests Sept. 21 the decision of Alexandria City Council to petition the Virginia General Assembly for permission to remove the Appomattox Statue from the intersection of Prince and Washington streets. A local contractor, Deakins is frustrated by council’s decision to ignore a task force recommendation to let the statue remain in place but with added historical context. The statue of the Confederate soldier is located on the spot where an Alexandria regiment mustered to retreat from the city in 1861. It was erected in 1889 and is inscribed with the names of local soldiers who died fighting for the South.