Five years ago, 2021

• Green Cove Springs Junior High Principal Jen Halter learns she is one of three finalists for Florida Principal of the Year by the Florida Department of Education.

• Keystone Heights High’s Kade Sanders and Zach Glover each win gold medals to lead the Indians to the state 1A weightlifting championship, while Fleming Island won the Class 3A title.

• Florida Power and Light flips the switch to turn on the Magnolia Springs Solar Energy Center, a 74.5-megawatt center with 280,980 solar panels that generate enough clean energy to power 15,000 homes.

10 years ago, 2016

• Teachers and support staff with Clay County District Schools sign a new contract that includes a $500 raise retroactive to eight months prior and additional $450 for attending additional training with Professional Learning Communities.

• County health leaders spend months planning and collecting data for the Community Health Improvement Plan to remove roadblocks to health and create a physically and mentally stronger society.

• Judy’s Place, an adult daycare facility on Walnut Street in Green Cove Springs, opens to complement the Council of Aging.

20 years ago, 2006

• The Board of County Commissioners receives two plans to build a new east-west connector from Blanding Boulevard to Branan Field Road. One calls for the widening of Cleveland Avenue from Blanding to Branan, the other calls for connecting via Parkridge.

• Emily Marie Delafield, armed with a hammer and two knives, dies after a Green Cove Springs police officer used a stun gun to control her actions. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement was called in to investigate.

• Under the coordination of Mercy Network, nonprofits and churches provide free healthcare and personal care services to 127 homeless Clay County residents.

30 years ago, 1996

• Members of the Clay County judiciary and the Clerk of Court work together to create Teen Court, a diversionary program to help non-violent, first-time offending teens stay out of the prison system.

• Clay County Habitat for Humanity wins the annual Paul Reinhold Community Service Award and its $10,000 prize.

• The Green Cove Springs City Council votes to turn down Clay County Sheriff Scott Lancaster’s offer to unify the 911 system to save $56,090 a year.

40 years ago, 1986

• Mark Walrath, a senior at Keystone Heights High, wins second-place honors at the State Science and Engineering Fair and first-place at the national U.S. Navy “Life, Drag and Moment: Aerodynamic Forces Which Act Upon an Airfoil.”

• The county commission rejects a $3.6 million bid from Triest Construction of Keystone Heights for a new Clay County Jail because it was $1.1 million greater than what was budgeted.

• Joseph Love, a two-time mayor of Green Cove Springs, is indicted in the U.S. District Court after allegedly embezzling $575,000 while he was the chair of the Florida State Minority Ventures, Inc.