5 years ago, 2012
James Jett, Clay County clerk of court and candidate for U.S. House of Representatives, said he turned over to the FBI, audiotape of a conversation in which he was offered a cash incentive to pull out of the race against incumbent Cliff Stearns and challenger Ted Yoho.

Orange Park voters prepared to head to the polls March 13 to choose between engineer Scott Land and municipal consultant Jeffrey Winter. Officials expected an 11 percent voter turnout.

Clay County firefighters battled a 200-acre fire in Keystone Heights that destroyed a home in the 7500 block of Fremont Avenue. The blaze also damaged several vehicles.

10 years ago, 2007
Former Florida Speaker of the House quit the Clay County Board of Commissioners to return to his job as a lobbyist. Thrasher had been appointed by Gov. Charlie Crist in the wake of an illegal dumping scandal involving a BCC member who had been removed from office.

The Clay County Sheriff’s Office said medical examiners used a metal prosthesis and fingerprints to identify the body of Robert Neil-Laforge Knox, 73, of Jacksonville whose remains were found near Bluff House Apartments on Wells Road.

University of Florida Healthcare announced plans to construct a 5,500-square foot medical center in the growing Oakleaf community. The investment was estimated at $500,000.

20 years ago, 1997
Green Cove Springs City Council voted to hire Eric Meserve as city manager for an annual base pay of $54,000. He was also to receive a $2,500 moving expenses stipend, assigned a car for city business and provided separate long-term and short-term disability insurances.

Demolition crews headed to the old Pic N’Save store at 248 Blanding Boulevard to convert it into the area’s newest Winn Dixie Store. Pic N’Save closed down after going through complete liquidation.

Assistant State Attorney Tim Collins said he was still investigating the December 26, 1996 accident that killed two Gainesville bicyclists and seriously injured four others on State Road 21.

30 years ago, 1987
Officials with the inaugural Clay County Agricultural Fair announced Robinson’s Racing Pigs were to be featured at the event scheduled for March 31-April 4. Billed as “Swinedom’s Swiftest,” the pigs would race around a 150-foot oval track.

The Clay County Sheriff’s Office arrested six juveniles in connection with two separate burglaries in Keystone Heights and Orange Park.

The Board of County Commissioners’ Airport Committee met in a luncheon session with officials from Reynolds Industrial Park to begin discussions on transforming the old U.S. Navy base into a commercial airport.
40 years ago, 1977
The Clay County School Board and the Clay County Education Association agreed to terms of a new teacher contract in which educators would get a 3.9 percent pay hike and an extra paid holiday during the school year.

William Ronald McMullan, 29, was handed two life sentences by Judge Lamar Winegeart Jr. One was for the murder of 16-year-old Janita Estes and the other for the sexual battery with a firearm of a 23-year-old Clay County woman.

The Board of County Commissioners tabled a request for $67,000 from Orange Park Town Council to pave Elbow Road and Frog Hollow Road citing tight revenue.