Newspaper Page Text
Merry Christmas to all
OF OUR READERS. —7fa P'LOfrX'U
Thursday, December 22,2016 Jasper, Georgia Volume 129 Number 35 www.pickensprogress.com 75 cents
5,049 Christmas
Child shoeboxes
collected in
Pickens County
Page 5A
Healing
hearts
through
arts
Page 6A
Future of
Nelson Police
debated at
hearing
Page 5A
Second man charged in axe murder
By Dan Pool
Editor
dpool@pickensprogress.com
A second man has been
charged with murder in con
nection with a body that had
been hidden in the Cove
Road area since the summer
of 2014.
Christopher Irving Byers,
32, of Lower Tails Creek
Road in Ellijay, was indicted
by a Pickens grand jury for
murder last week as a co-de
fendant with Arnold Hoyt
Griffith, Jr. 58, of Cove
Road, who was arrested for
murder on November 9.
As co-defendants, Grif
fith and Byers each face
charges of malice murder.
felony murder, two counts of
aggravated assault, tamper
ing with evidence and aban
donment of a body. Both
men were in jail on proba
tion violations at the time the
murder charges were
brought.
The indictments state
both Griffith and Byers
killed Ray Walnoha by
“striking him on and about
the head and neck with an
axe.” The indictment says
the exact date is not known,
but the killing is believed to
have occurred between July
11, 2014 and August 15,
2014, according to the in
dictment.
The indictment does not
indicate which of the men
Christopher Byers (left) and Arnold Griffith, Jr.
booking photos from the Pickens County jail.
struck the fatal blow.
Little is known of Wal
noha, the victim. The last
known address that investi
gators could find was in
Adamsville, Tenn. He had
never been officially re
ported missing and local of
ficials had trouble finding
any next of kin, eventually
locating a sibling. Sheriff
spokesman Kris Stancil said
they are looking into what
led Walnoha to be here. He
possibly had lived in Ellijay
at one point.
The charge for abandon
ment of a body states Byers
and Griffith abandoned the
body in the vicinity of 2198
Cove Road, which tax
records show is owned by
Arnold H. Griffith and in
cludes 53 acres of woodland
with a home and older out
building.
Both Griffith and Byers
are also charged individually
with tampering with evi
dence. The indictment states
they attempted to “unlaw
fully and knowingly destroy
and conceal physical evi
dence, to wit: the body and
physical remains of Ray
Walnoha.”
Law enforcement offi
cials would not comment on
how or under what condi
tions the body had been
found in regard to the sepa
rate abandonment and tam
pering charges.
Officials familiar with the
case said the GBI had con
ducted body searches in the
Cove Road area based on
this information on a couple
of occasions. The body may
have been moved after it was
hidden the first time, accord-
See Murder on 10A
Jasper family
shot at in road
rage incident
By Angela Reinhardt
Staff writer
areinhardt@pickensprogress.com
Cherokee County detec
tives are investigating a seri
ous road rage incident that,
although it produced no in
juries, could have resulted in
more than one fatality.
Detectives are requesting
the public’s help to identify
the suspect.
According to a press re
lease from the Cherokee
County Sheriff’s Depart
ment, the incident occurred
Saturday, Dec. 17 at approx
imately 10 p.m. on Reinhardt
College Parkway north of the
Highway 5 Connector.
A Jasper couple in their
70s and their teenage grand
son turned out of Cherokee
Auction Company to travel
north on Reinhardt College
Parkway when they pulled
out in front of another vehicle
that did not have its head
lights on and almost collided
photo/Cherokee Sheriff
Between four and six
shots were fired at a Jasper
family’s car last weekend.
One bullet hit the vehicle’s
tailgate, pictured above.
with it, according to the inci
dent report. The driver of the
other vehicle, which was
traveling south, turned
around and opened fire on
the couple’s 2005 Toyota
4Runner.
“The vehicle sped up and
started to tailgate [the vic-
See Road Rage on 14A
Elected officials take oath of office
Fifteen public officials participated in an investiture ceremony for the 2017-2020 term Monday afternoon at
the Pickens County Courthouse. Following are those who took their oath of office and loyalty oath before their
respective judge.
Seated l-r: Chief Judge of the Superior Court Brenda Weaver, Clerk of the Superior and Juvenile Courts Jen
nifer Jordan, Board of Education Member Sue Finley; Standing l-r: Associate Judge of the Probate Court and
Chief Judge of the Magistrate Court Allen Wigington, Coroner Mark Godfrey, Judge of the Magistrate Court
Alan Morris, Board of Education Member Katherine White, Chairman of the Board of Commissioners Robert
Jones, Magistrate Court Judge Richard Howard, Probate Court Judge and Magistrate Court Judge David Lindsey,
Superior Court Judge John Worchester (present but not sworn in), Board of Commissioners Member Becky Den
ney, Tax Commissioner Darrin Satterfield, Magistrate Court Judge Carlton Wilson, and Pickens County Sheriff
Donald Craig.
Kindergarteners pen stories on “how Santa gets into my house”
Front row, left to right: Townson Rickenbaker, Darbi Stanley, Lucas Franklin, Paul Rowe, Luke Mason.
Back row, left to right: Chloe Daniel, Jonah Newton, Callaway Young, Santa Claus, Isaac Mitchell, Kolby Moss,
Trip Davis, Garrett Patterson.
By First Baptist Church Jasper
Kindergarten Students of Krista
Simonds and Tiffany Griffis
Santa comes from the North
Pole through the chimney to get
into my house. He is 14 years old
and weighs 1,000 pounds. Santa’s
been married to Mrs. Claus for 30
years. He uses his sleigh and 8 rein
deer - Comet, Cupid, Donner,
Blitzen, Rudolph and some others
- to fly around the world in one
hour. I’m the first house Santa goes
to in the whole world and he leaves
the presents on the floor in my liv
ing room. He has 1,000 elves that
make stuff and I hope they bring
me a Lego Ghostbuster Firehouse.
I’m going to leave him chocolate
chip cookies on the living room
table and carrots for the reindeer.
- Trip
Santa lives at the North Pole
with Mrs. Claus and they’ve been
married for five years. He weighs
99 pounds so he has to come down
the fireplace from the roof to get
into my house. He is 75 years old
so it takes him a long time to de
liver the presents around the world
- about a couple of hours. Santa
gets to my house at 10:00 and
leaves the presents in the living
room, so I have to be asleep. I hope
he brings me candy canes and a
Barbie Cruise Ship. That’s what I
really want. The 98 elves make the
toys and the 18 reindeer help him
deliver the presents - Dasher,
Prancer, Harrison, Comet,
Rudolph, Blitzen and Catherine.
Santa’s favorite food is Cheerios
cereal, so I leave that on the coffee
table in the living room and carrots
for the reindeer.
- Townson
See Stories on 1OA
OBITS
PAGE 15A
• Aubrey Dobson
• Harry Hendrix
•Jack Jones Sr.
• Kenneth Cagle
• May Branscum
• Peggy Crowl
GO
Subscribe to our Print edition and/or E-edition - Call our office at 706-253-2457 or do it online at www.pickensprogress.com