The Pike County Journal-Reporter

Griffin Judicial Circuit’s public defender W. Allen Adams filed a motion to retry the case of Chiquita Dior Snipes in which she was found guilty of the murder of 2-year-old Ty’Quan Edge and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Kenisha Shontee Neal was 23 at the time of the toddler’s death and she pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison with a possibility for parole. Both Neal and Chiquita Dior Snipes faced murder charges and charges of aggravated assault, cruelty to children in the first degree and cruelty to children in the second degree.

Judge Christopher Edwards presided over the original trial against Snipes and was also the judge to hear the motion to retry the case. [Full story »] 

The Pike County High School Varsity wrestling team is 9-0 for its last nine matches.  The team went up to Marist on Jan. 2 and defeated Marist, Westminster, Rockdale County, North Atlanta and Riverwood.  [Full story »] 

Pike County resident and Griffin Judicial Circuit Superior Court Judge Robert “Mack” Crawford was suspended by Georgia’s Judicial Qualificiations Commission Hearing Panel last month and will have an ethics meeting with the JQC this month. [Full story »] 

Pirates head coach Brad Webber was recently nominated for the Don Shula NFL High School Coach of the Year Award by the Atlanta Falcons. He was one of 32 coaches selected from across the nation. The NFL allows each coach to take one senior with them to the Pro Bowl in Orlando, FL to participate in the High School Challenge and he selected Gerald Hines to represent Pike County. [Full story »] 

One day last week, I was performing my morning ritual of getting coffee from a local convenience store to enjoy at my desk while dealing with the daily assault of e-mail - mostly junk. I encountered a woman whom I thought was addressing me. [Full story »] 

 The Dog and Pony Show - which celebrates relationships with both of the beloved species - is accepting photo submissions. The show is free to enter. [Full story »] 

By Mike Ruffin
ruffinml@gmail.com

1968 was a tough year. The Vietnam War was raging. Assassins struck down Dr. King and Sen. Kennedy. Riots tore apart major American cities. The divisions between people were sharp.
But something happened at the end of that year that showed us something we really needed to know. And many of us watched it on television. [Full story »] 

Between Friday, Dec. 28, and Monday, Jan. 7, area law enforcement agencies made the following arrests: [Full story »] 

Pike County resident Janie Rudolph called to talk to her father regularly after he moved to Tennessee years ago. But in 1992, she was told he died of a heart attack and she lost all hope of ever seeing him again - until they were recently reunited in a shocking, emotional meeting. [Full story »]