5 years ago in Clay Today: 

• The hallways were lined with people wearing scrubs and masks. Some were finishing another long day at Orange Park Medical Center in the worldwide fight against COVID-19; others were about to start their exhausting shift.
• One hundred years ago, women won the right to vote. In fact, the 2020 Primary Election falls on the exact anniversary of its ratification – Aug. 18. The 19th Amendment is a victory that should be celebrated, not just for its obvious importance, but because it took de cades for it to happen.
• Many citizens in Clay County and abroad have relied on mail-in voting to make their voices heard in the political process. The issue is especially prevalent with the COVID-19 outbreak, meaning mail-in voting may play a more significant than usual role in this year’s elections, according to Supervisor of Elections Chris Chambless.
• Recently, there has been a lot of conversation around the Town of Orange Park and Clay County regarding a proposed development on Kingsley. At a recent community engagement meeting held by Orange Park Plaza’s developers, approximately 200 people attended.

  10 years ago:

• The artwork of Kelsey Bailes, 11, of Orange Park, will be placed on a digital Clear Channel billboard facing Interstate 295 west near the Blanding Boulevard on-ramp for winning the annual Clay Humane spay and neuter poster contest.
• Joe Gainers was awarded three Purple Hearts for injuries sustained in combat. The home he grew up in fell into deplorable conditions and the disabled veteran with diabetes needed help. The roof was caving in, as was the porch and everything but the concrete walls because the wood was rot ting away. Spearheaded by the Clay County State Housing Initiative Project and Habi tat for Humanity of Clay County, Gainers’ home has been completely remodeled.
• Five-hundred white balloons, symbolizing millions who died in the Holocaust and World War II, floated into the night, as a mist fell from the sky, covering them with a wet haze, like the cheeks of the crowd below.