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This Week In History 7/23/20


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Five years ago, 2015

• Calavo Growers signs a lease for the old Food Lion distribution center near Green Cove Springs. The company that manufactures fresh and frozen avocado products is expected to bring 262 jobs to the county.

• Florida TaxWatch said the state’s $2 billion in costs to put criminals in jail is the third highest in the country and it asks for less-costly way to punish nonviolent, non-sex offenders.

• Despite cutting costs – and 80 teaching positions – the Clay County School District said its budget still is “grim.”

10 years ago, 2010

• Clay County officials rename an eight-mile stretch of County Road 209 from U.S. Highway 17 to the Putnam County line J.P. Hall Boulevard.

• Emergency Management Services Director Jim Corbin and EMS Program Manager Wanda Mosley are laid off by County Manager Fritz Behring as part of cost-cutting measures.

• Michael Renard Jackson is sentenced to death by Circuit Court Judge William A. Wilkes for the rape and murder of Andrea Boyer, a veterinarian tech at a Wells Road animal clinic.

20 years ago, 2000

• John P. Hall Jr., the son of John P. Hall who yearly provided Christmas toys for disadvantaged children, loses his battle with cancer.

• Richard Reid “Pop” Wagner, the former fire chief of Green Cove Springs, dies following an extended illness.

• BellSouth selects Clay County for a new customer service center that will employ 1,000 people.

30 years ago, 1990

• The Clay County Commission said it won’t enforce the new Workman’s Compensation law until the legislature mandates it.

• Union Camp announces it plans to develop 58,000 acres in Clay and Putnam counties. The project will be called “The Villages of Seminole.”

• Anthony Rasmus, a Democrat, Anthony Salvatore, a Republican, and Warren Hodge, a Republican, all are the final three candidates to qualify to have their names added to the November ballot. All three are running for a spot on the school board.

40 years ago, 1980

• Census figures show a 104.2% increase in population compared to 1970. The county’s population is reported at 65,451.

• Clay County Crescent Editor Elaine Williamson donates her scrapbook to the Clay Historical Society. Her scrapbook finished second place in the Florida Press Association’s annual contest.

• The Clay High Class of 1965 plans to hold a reunion on the Ponce DeLeon Lodge in St. Augustine.