Five years ago, 2018

• The Jacksonville Transportation Authority’s St. Johns River Ferry was reopened after repairs and maintenance.

• The Streetscape project in Keystone Heights held an open house to discuss the project’s plans and goals. City Manager Scott Kornegay intended to make State Road 21 a proper main street for the city.

• The North Florida Land Trust acquired 2,300 acres to continue conservation efforts in the Ocala to Osceola wildlife corridor

10 years ago, 2013

• The Memory Club at St. Johns River State College prepared for the USA Memory Championship in New York City.

• The St. Luke’s Child Care Center finished construction and installed a biometric scanner to ensure the safety of children and staff inside.

• Curtis Alan “Ping” Dingler was convicted for a connection to the theft and transfer of the gun used in the homicide of Clay County Detective David White.

20 years ago, 2003

• Clay County School Board Member Charles “Mickey” Fields, who was in the last year of his second term, announced he would not seek re-election in 2004. Fields, 68, cited health reasons for his decision.

• Following a lead from the Board of County Commissioners, the Clay County School Board scheduled a special meeting to propose hiring former Florida House Speaker John Thrasher as the school district’s lobbyist in Tallahassee. Superintendent David Owens proposed spending $36,000 a year for Thrasher’s services.

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30 years ago, 1993

• Virgil Fox, who served 12 years as director of the Clay County Development Authority, was named as an honorary life member of the Florida Economic Development Council.

• Clay residents prepared to celebrate the 6th Annual Ham Jam at the Spencer Ranch on Carter-Spencer Road off County Road 218 in Middleburg, where $5,000 in prize money was up for grabs for winning cooks.

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40 years ago, 1983

• A citizens advisory committee recommended that the Clay County School Board go with a $50 million bond issue to obtain funds to build new schools and upgrade existing ones in light of District growth. The committee said the original proposal of a $25 million bond issue was not enough.

• Clay County Commissioner Wayne Spivey was accused of trying to discredit a candidate for the open county manager position. David Norris, the personnel manager for Highlands County, was the BCC’s second choice for the position and was turned down for the job.

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50 years ago, 1973

• Jacksonville Judge Major B. Harding officially dismissed charges against Clay County Judge Thomas J. Rivers, who had been accused of breaking state nepotism laws by hiring his wife.

• Elected officials from Clay County and Orange Park took part in helping bury a time capsule at Southern Bell’s new $3.4 million “central office facility.”

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