Five years ago, 2021
• The county offers emergency rental assistance applications on a first-come, first-served basis as a response to business shutdowns and layoffs created by the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The Clay County Sheriff’s Office has job openings for civilian support staff, crossing guards, deputy sheriffs, public service aides, custodians and other qualified applicants.
• The Clay County Health Department reports the demand for COVID-19 vaccines have exceeded supplies.
10 years ago, 2016
• The state informs the City of Green Cove Springs it will give it $250,000 to help restore Spring Park.
• Ln Houdini wins the $50,000 James J. Patton Silver Cup Stakes race at the Orange Park Kennel Club.
• The county is told by the Balmoral Group to maximize construction of the First Coast Expressway, create an entrepreneurial ecosystem and to brand Clay County with recognizable signage at its borders in a five-year economic development plan.
20 years ago, 2006
• Clay County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Brian Sutherland resigns after he was arrested for sexual battery of a child younger than 12.
• Gov. Jeb Bush will appoint a replacement for Clay County Commissioner Christy Fitzgerald after she was indicted in connection with an illegal dumping scandal.
• An undercover investigation called “Operation Full Court Press” results in 17 arrests by the Clay County Sheriff’s Office on charges ranging from burglary, robbery, dealing in stolen property and drug charges.
30 years ago, 1996
• The Clay County Education Association presents the School Board with petitions signed by more than 2,000 people demanding zero tolerance against weapons on school property.
• Clay County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Gary Cannon, a Community Policing Officer, says minors drinking alcohol is the biggest juvenile problem in Keystone Heights.
• The Green Cove Springs Redevelopment Agency recommends an ordinance to change the required distance of establishments selling alcohol from 1,000 feet to 300 feet within the city.
40 years ago, 1986
• Ronald Morgan, 31, of Lake Asbury, shoots his wife, Lora Wade Morgan, 24, twice before turning the gun on himself, according to the Clay County Sheriff’s Office.
• Faced with recall elections, Byrd Marshall and Hance Bruce resign from the Orange Park Town Council in wake of an investigation that they gave town employees direct orders, a violation of the town charter.
• The Clay High Band honors William Heney, who used to march with John Phillip Sousa’s band, posthumously during SpringFest.