5 years ago, 2013
On a 4-1 vote by his fellow council members, Jim Renninger was elected Mayor of Orange Park, while council member Marge Hutton was elected vice mayor.

Incumbent city council member Felecia Hampshire entered into a runoff with Alan Stevenson for Green Cove Springs City Council.

Grace Episcopal Day School dedicated a new classroom building in honor of Jan Burton, the educator who founded the school in 1953.

10 years ago, 2008
The Clay County Sheriff’s Office arrested David J. Martin, 21, of Jacksonville and charged him with the murder of Jayce McWilliams, 23. Officers found her body in a wooded area off Johns Cemetery Road.

Voters in Green Cove Springs returned two incumbents to seats on city council. John Buchanan defeated Mitch Timberlake, while Mike Kelter defeated Joseph Riley.

Crews began demolition on the old Pyramid Manufacturing plant on Magnolia Avenue in Green Cove Springs to make way for Magnolia Cove Townhomes, a development that included 70 upscale townhomes.

20 years ago, 1998
Interim Clerk of Court Talmadge Bennett drew fire from elected officials and residents after he re-hired former embattled Clerk of Court John Keene – who had resigned days prior – to serve as a consultant for the clerk’s office.

The Clay County School Board was to review a 523-page performance review report by a consulting firm that said the district could save $2.02 million by reducing its number of principals district-wide.

The Clay Board of County Commissioners contracted with the Genesis Group to gather public input to develop a master plan for the Branan Field-Chaffee Road corridor.

30 years ago, 1988
Claude Kelly, chairman of the Clay County Agricultural Fair Association, said the 2nd Annual fair was double the size of the inaugural fair. Deggeller Attractions introduced a brand-new ride called the Zipper.

The Clay Board of County Commissioners considered an ordinance to establish a Code Enforcement Board that would field complaints from residents rather than take them to the court system.

Two county employees were accused of placing tombstones outside the Clay County Courthouse, one for County Commissioner James Jett and a second for Mary Shanklin, a reporter for the Florida Times-Union. Each included poorly-written poems criticizing the performance of their respective jobs.

40 years ago, 1978
Incumbent Green Cove Springs Mayor Joe Love defeated challenger Louis Lynch 679 votes to 473 for Lynch.

James Powell Smith, 37, of Green Cove Springs, was killed instantly when the car he was driving ran into the back of a tractor-trailer on Interstate 95, about 16 miles north of St. Augustine.

The Clay Board of County Commissioners voted to grant Clay Video Inc. a non-exclusive cable television franchise for the county’s unincorporated areas for a fee of three percent of gross revenue paid to the county.