Five years ago, 2018

• More than 730 pounds of salad were recalled in Green Cove Springs due to fears of salmonella contamination, according to the United States Department of Agriculture.

• St. Johns River State College named Anna Zirbel as the new executive director of the Thrasher-Horne Center.

• Incumbent Ashley Gilhousen, who represented District 5 on the Clay County School Board, accused her opponent Lynn Chafee of failing to properly qualify as a candidate.

10 years ago, 2013

• Town Manager Martina Kohler of Penney Farms retires – for the third time. Kohler was influential in securing a renovated sewer system and electrical grid.

• The St. Johns River Water Management District detected microcystin toxin levels at Doctors Lake Marina between 50 and 200 times higher than the recommended recreational exposure threshold.

• Bryan Campbell was elected chairman of the Charter Review Commission at the group’s first meeting. The charter acts like a constitution for the county and “organizes” the government.

20 years ago, 2003

• The activist group Citizens for Term Limits and Accountability Committee turned in petitions to Supervisor of Elections Barbara Kirkman seeking to amend the county charter. Their petition sought to have voters elect BCC members from a countywide model to district-only voting.

• The Clay County Sheriff’s Office collared a Miami Beach woman for an alleged purse-snatching spree involving three Clay County churches. Shirley Kurylas was arrested in the parking lot of Living Waters Church.

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30 years ago, 1993

• A proposal to redistrict the attendance boundaries for Orange Park, Middleburg and Clay High schools drew a record crowd of parents and concerned residents at the Clay County School Board.

• The Clay County Juvenile Justice Council received a $63,627 grant from the state Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services to fund programs and services to reduce juvenile crime. At the time, Clay County ranked third highest in Florida in the number of juvenile arrests.

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40 years ago, 1983

• The Florida Highway Patrol investigated a freak accident involving a tractor-trailer truck that ran off the Black Creek Bridge on U.S. Highway 17. Instead of crashing into the water, it landed on top of a barge underneath the bridge.

• Orange Park Community Theatre opened its season with Neil Simon’s “California Suite.”

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50 years ago, 1973

• Judge Thomas J. Rivers – indicted by a Clay County Grand Jury for hiring

his wife – had his attorney file a motion to dismiss the charges of malpractice and malfeasance for allegedly hiring his wife in January 1973 while serving the bench.

• The Board of County Commissioners contracted with Hunnicutt & Associates to appraise all property in Clay County. The contract was for $117,400.

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