Digital Billboards a Go, Electronic Gaming a No by Debra W
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
We Insure HOMES Jane DiLoreto Agency Chamber In Motion Meet Chamber President 215-2121 Doug Conkey 3701193-01 – Insert THURSDAY, JANUARY 10, 2013 WWW.CLAYTODAYONLINE.COM VOLUME 44, NO. 2 75¢ Digital billboards a go, electronic gaming a no By Debra W. Buehn “Please do not let Correspondent GREEN COVE SPRINGS – Months of this scourge continue controversy came to grow and blight our to an end at the Jan. 8 Clay Coun- beautiful county.” ty Commission –Sara Spurrier, Green Cove Springs meeting as revi- resident and member of the city’s sions to two coun- planning and zoning board ty regulations – one involving private non-pro t groups to have up to electronic game Doug Conkey ve machines in their clubhouses. Com- machines and the missioners Doug Conkey and Wendell other digital bill- Davis voted in favor of the revisions, boards – came while Commission Chairman Chereese up for votes, with Stewart and commissioners Diane only the digital Hutchings and Ronnie Robinson voted billboard measure against them. passing. Both items have stirred a great deal Proposed re- of discussion and controversy in recent visions to Clay’s weeks as those for and against have Wendell Davis sign code that appeared repeatedly before the BCC would allow for digital billboards in cer- and the county Planning Commission STAFF PHOTO BY ERIC CRAVEY tain areas of the county passed unani- to state their cases. Tuesday night was Making History! mously. But commissioners voted 3-2 no exception as both items came up for against allowing for exceptions to an their nal public hearings and the BCC GREEN COVE SPRINGS – Tara Green, right, takes the oath of of ce as Clay County Clerk of existing electronic game ordinance that Court as her daughter Savannah, left, holds the Bible. Green is the rst woman ever to serve would have allowed veterans and other SEE BILLBOARDS, 3 as Clerk in Clay County. She succeeds James Jett who served as Clerk for 14 years. Battle continues over toxic waste site in Middleburg By Sarah Wakefi eld due to toxic contaminated coal ash. as a proper cover for the dirt roads on his partment of Environmental Protection for Staff Writer This fall will mark four years since property uphill from Black Creek. When he not having a permit, potentially damaging MIDDLEBURG – Signs hanging on Steven Johnson accepted 16,000 tons of toxic placed the donated material on his land in nearby well water supplies and dumping a Johnson’s 30-acre property tell it all. The coal ash from Jacksonville Electric Au- September 2009, he never imagined fall- Class 1 solid waste into wetlands. bold red letters warn against trespassing thority in hopes the substance would serve ing into a legal tangle with the Florida De- SEE TOXIC, 12 The best deals! INSERTS •New Vehicles USA WEEKEND •Pre-Owned CLAY IN MOTION •Service & Body Shop WALMART NEWS AMERICA COUPONS SAVE $ gordonchevy.com • 1166 BLANDING BLVD. 345 2 CLAY TODAY • January 10, 2013 COMMUNITY CLAYTODAYONLINE.COM by Clay County Mary Jo [email protected] Memories [email protected] Even monkey jockeys couldn’t save the second incarnation of the Orange Park dog track The little village of Orange Park was all By law the track only operated for 90 gaily colored miniature regulation silk abuzz one Saturday in March of 1946. Af- days a year. But in those three months, jockey out ts. ter a hiatus of over a decade, the dog track race goers from North Florida and South Throughout that season the monkey was celebrating its third grand opening. Georgia came to bet the dogs and trade jockeys appeared as an added event at the Folks were taking and making bets as to with Orange Park businesses. The power- end of the regular ten races. No one left whether this time it would last. ful political machine based in Green Cove early and some came late just to witness The rst inaugural race was back in Springs saw the privilege of doling out the their shenanigans. 1926. But that year it was “one and done.” precious seasonal jobs as their due. Or- Monkey jockeys were known to pitch a Known as the Seminole Kennel Club, orga- ange Park residents felt the jobs should go t at their dog if he didn’t win or ride the nizers ran afoul of state anti-gaming laws to folks in town. whole race locked in squealing sticuffs and Clay County Sheriff Elam Weeks and There was a foiled attempt to move with an adjacent competitor. Win or lose, his crew of deputies arrested the employ- the town limits south of the dog track so the crowds went home laughing. ees on site, herded all the high rollers into the county could gain control. Deals were Rumblings of WWII continued economic the parking lot and padlocked the doors. struck and the town maintained jurisdic- downturns and stiff competition from the Five years later in December of 1931, tion. new Jacksonville Kennel Club forced an- after Florida legislators legalized gam- The monkey jockeys with their fancy racing In the 1932-33 season, the introduc- other closure. This second dog track era bling, the Clay County Kennel Club opened silks and unpredictable antics were a major tion of monkey jockeys was a real crowd- was brief but full of excitement. for business with a grand gala but things crowd-pleaser in the ‘32-’33 racing season. pleaser and drew wide audiences strictly The third opening was the charm and were dicey on that rst day when the dogs smack dab in Orange Park brought out the for the entertainment value. With sporting the Orange Park Kennel Club, after nu- actually caught the rabbit and tore it to little green monsters of envy. Folks in the names like Casey Jones, Ready To Go and merous renovations, is still going strong furry mechanical shreds. county seat were accustomed to being in No Foolin,’ the tiny primates paraded on today. So it is time for all those who, back Having such a juicy plum plunked down charge. the track wearing oilskin capes over their in 1946, bet against its survival to pay up. Springing ahead with tomatoes It may still be cool outside, but plant form. Stake-type tomatoes with large fruit include it’s not too early to think about Big Boy, Better Boy, Bonnie Best, Bragger, Manapal and starting the spring garden. Oxheart. For small fruit on a staking tomato, look for Red In the next two weeks, unless Cherry, Sweet Chelsea, Sweet 100, and Sweet Million. you’re lucky enough to have a If you’d rather grow bushes, give Celebrity, Duke, greenhouse, nd a sunny corner Suncoast, Solar Set, or Walter a try for large fruit, or for inside and get a head start on all smaller-fruiting, try Florida Lanai, Florida Petite, Patio, those mouth-watering tomato va- Cherry Grande, Roma, and Micro-Tom among others. rieties by planting seeds indoors With any variety, look for the letters V (verticillium now. When March rolls around, wilt), F (fusarium wilt), and N (nematodes) that indicate Seasonal concerns you’ll be ahead of the game for from gardeners resistance. fresh salads, salsas, spaghetti AMY E. MORIE You can start your seedlings four to ve weeks ahead sauce and more. Environmental Horticulture Agent ll of setting outside in March. Use old cell packs and small Tomatoes are perhaps the most Clay County Extension Office pots, metal or wooden trays you have handy if you can add popular of all garden vegetables – drainage holes to them. and with so many uses and variet- Sterilize any reused containers rst - remove all old more soil on top, then lightly water. Or you can create ies it’s no wonder. There are two basic forms for the plant, soil before using one part chlorine bleach to nine parts grooves in the soil a quarter-inch deep and two-to-three both with fruits of all sizes. Indeterminate tomatoes tend water and soak containers for one hour. If you don’t have inches apart to place seeds in, then cover and moisten. to sprawl and must be caged or staked and pruned to keep containers to reuse, hardware stores and nurseries often Keep soil moist – not damp – while seedlings develop. fruit off the ground. Depending on the variety, they may carry seed starting trays. Try to get one that’s completely If you notice seedlings looking pinched at the base grow up to six feet high. Determinate types are smaller open rather than the 72-or-more cell inserts (your toma- where they meet the soil, you’ve got a fungal condition plants that tend to be bushy or semi-vining in form. These toes may outgrow these before you can get them in the known as damping off. Wet the base of the seedlings with are great for gardeners with less time for staking and ground. Fill with a commercial potting soil mix, rm – but an approved fungicide to treat. pruning plants. don’t pack – the soil, and plant your seeds. Thin your seedlings when they grow to one-inch high, When picking a variety, look at the fruit, as well as the You can scatter them on moistened soil and sprinkle SEE TOMATOES, 10 POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Clay Today, 3513 U.S. Hwy 17, Fleming Island, FL U.S.P.S. (063-800) Publisher: Jon Cantrell Sales & Marketing Periodical Postage Paid at Orange Park, Florida Managing Editor: Eric Cravey NOTICE TO ADVERTISERS This newspaper assumes no nancial responsibility for Sales Manager: Peg Oddy typographical errors in advertisements, but when noti ed promptly will reprint IN CLAY COUNTY, MAIL DELIVERY OUTOFCOUNTY & OUTOFSTATE Sta Reporter: Sarah Wake eld correctly the part of the advertisement in which the typographical error ap- Subscription Rate Subscription Rate Sales: Susan Sawyer, Phyllis Vancas pears.