Five years ago, 2021

• The final two steel beams are installed as construction on the new 100-bed Baptist Medical Center Clay hospital continued.

• Green Cove Springs Police Chief Derek Asdot is laid to rest at the Jacksonville National Cemetery after spending 37 days in the hospital fighting COVID-19.

• The Clay County Sheriff’s Office joined other law enforcement agencies to celebrate National Night Out to help the community connect with its deputies in a friendly, informative and non-emergency way.

10 years ago, 2016

• Residents on Lewis Drive near the Green Cove Dragway said according to the Clay County Property Appraiser’s Office, their property value had dropped by nearly 20%.

• VyStar Credit Union opens a branch inside Middleburg High.

• The Orange Park Town Council votes to extend the use of its red-light cameras for another 120 days.

20 years ago, 2006

• Murphco of Florida Inc. announced it planned to build a Holiday Inn, a 134-room hotel, while AvakHotels Group Two said it would build a Courtyard by Marriott, a 104-room hotel, both on Wells Road.

• The Clay County government and the union that represented the county’s firefighters said they reached a tentative agreement on a new contract.

• John David Johnson III of Doctors Lake reportedly went through a South Hampton subdivision and knocked on doors at 3:20 a.m.

30 years ago, 1996

• A Clay County Grand Jury indicted four of five suspects in a murder-for-hire plot that left Jack Jones dead. His spouse, Linda Taylor Jones, Donald Lee Bradley, Brian O’Neal McWhite and Patrick Brent McWhite were indicted, while Bradley’s wife, Valerie Bradley, was indicted as an accessory.

• A 16-member steering committee for the Clay County District Schools recommended hiring more minority teachers and administrators, as well as reducing the number of teachers who lack certification.

• Clay County Superintendent Phyllis May said increased funding helped the district hire 36 new teachers, which helped reduce classroom size.

40 years ago, 1986

•Green Cove Springs Police Chief Bill Bland said four juveniles and an adult were arrested and charged with a month-long spree of burglaries to local businesses.

• Florida National Bank took ownership of The Ravines golf course in Middleburg for $3.75 million after it became the highest bidder in a sale at the Clay County Courthouse. The sale settled an $11.3 million judgement against Ravines Partnership Ltd. No. 2.

• The Clay County Sheriff’s Office charged Jerry Lamar Millikin of Keystone Heights with attempted murder after the agency said he attempted to stab bartender Teresa Garrard.