5 Years Ago, 2011

On a 5-0 vote, Orange Park Town Council passed a $25 million budget that would keep all of the town’s 104 full-time employees working despite the recession.

After leading the Clay County Chamber of Commerce since 2003, Kellie Jo Kilberg took in her resignation, saying it was time to move on.

The Clay County Sheriff’s Office asked for the public’s help in identifying a man caught on tape stealing $600 worth of electronic Bibles from Books-a-Million in the Orange Park Mall.

10 Years Ago, 2006

The Clay County Sheriff’s Office charged Amos Blount Jr. with first degree murder in the April 14, 2006 shooting death of Teresa Morente, whom police said, Blount shot with a .22-caliber handgun while standing outside of Morente’s residence.

The Sept. 5 primary election saw 25,617 Clay County voters cast ballots, making for a dismal 22.84 percent voter turnout. At the time, the county had 112,134 registered voters.

Proposing a millage rate of 5 mills, the Orange Park Town Council presented a tentative budget of $17.5 million. Included in the spending plan was $400,000 to renovate the Orange Park Skate Park.

20 Years Ago, 1996

Working with the Clay County Sheriff’s Office, Clay County Animal Control obtained a search warrant to seize 99 Pomeranian dogs involved in an animal hording case at a Fleming Island home.

The Sept. 3 primary resulted in 20,848 voters casting ballots in the Sept. 3 primary for a 30.2 percent voter turnout. At the time, Clay County had 69,014 registered voters.

Ten fire units from four Clay County Fire Department stations and two units from the Orange Park Fire Department responded to a fire at the fully-engulfed Meninac Lodge at Camp Echockotee on Doctors Lake Drive in Orange Park.

30 Years Ago, 1986

The Clay County School Board approved a new teacher contract that gave teachers a 7.83 percent pay hike, while at the same time, gave administrators a 7.7 percent hike, making Superintendent Ann Wiggins’ new salary $53,815.

Virgil Fox, representing J.P. Hall and Son Inc., asked the Green Cove Springs City Council to consider extending water lines down U.S. Highway 17 to Reynolds Industrial Park and Hall Park to accommodate a 300,000-400,000 square foot food distribution facility that would create 200 jobs.

Green Cove Springs City Council voted 5-0 to hire Kim D. Leinbach of Coralville, Iowa to become the next city manager.

40 Years Ago, 1976

In negotiations with the Clay County School District, teachers lowered a request for a 17 percent raise to a 12 percent raise, while district officials said 3.9 percent was as high as the budget could handle.

Clay County Sheriff Jennings Murhee said his investigators had checked some 400 leads in the abduction-murder of Juanita Estes, 16, of Orange Park, who disappeared after attending a cosmetics class at the Orange Park Mall.

The Sept. 7 primary had a whopping 41 percent voter turnout in which 8,902 of the county’s 21,664 voters cast ballots.