Man Helping Cut Down Trees Dies After Branch Hits His Head

The victim and two coworkers were working for the Ed Isakson-Alpharetta Family YMCA when the accident happened.

A 41-year-old Doraville man died a day after part of a tree he was helping to cut down struck him on his head. Misael Soriano Elorza was working with two other Downey Tree employees at the Ed Isakson-Alpharetta Family YMCA on the morning of April 26 to cut down some trees in the area, according to an Alpharetta Department of Public Safety incident report. His coworker, Feliciano Garcia, had been cutting a large tree at its base when it fell and hit Elorza, who was trying to guide the tree down with help from fellow Downey Trees employee Samuel Lunsford. As the tree came down, it broke in half and hit Elorza in the head from behind. The large tree had a Y-shaped branch that broke in half and struck Elorza. The force of the blow knocked him …

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Helping Kids Cope With Loss

What happens when the bereaved are too young to speak?

When a tragedy occurs, typically adults have healthy coping skills to deal with grief. There are rituals—service with songs and a eulogy, going to a cemetery, etc...and the ability to share their thoughts verbally or through the written word. What happens when the bereaved are too young to speak, let alone understand their feelings?   According to Amanda L Barnett EdS, NCC, LPC, of Counseling for Personal Growth & Career, LLC, “any change for a child is a big change. Changes equate to behavioral changes.”  Some children may be old enough to communicate their thoughts, yet younger children are not. Since vocabulary is limited, it is difficult to have true counseling. Typically these very young children may express their feelings through …

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Suspect, Victim Had Rocky Times Before Shooting in Milton

As the visitation for Shannon Lawrence gets underway in Woodstock, newly released Cherokee County Sheriff's Office reports offer a glimpse into the woman's troubled relationship with shooting suspect Christopher Erdman.

Christopher Erdman and Shannon Lawrence had a rocky relationship. There were calls to law enforcement. There were protective and restraining orders. There were court interventions. And on Sunday, there were gunshots. Lawrence, 25, of Canton, was shot four times in the face and neck in the parking lot of a mostly empty Birmingham Crossroads shopping center at 15780 Birmingham Highway. She later died from those wounds at Northside Hospital-Forsyth in Cumming. Newly released records supplied by the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office reveal years of friction, usually over their two children, a son who turned one year old today and a daughter who will turn three on June 25. The first known call to the sheriff's office was placed at 1:11 p.m. June…

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Daily PatchCast

Cartersville Pain Clinic Target of Probe; Chattahoochee Cleaned Up for River Race, Festival

A roundup of the region's major developments for Wednesday, June 9

Atlanta Medical Group Target of Multi-Agency Probe Advocate: System Failed Slain Mom Johns Creek Voters Will Decide on Sunday Alcohol Sales Prominent Cumming Business Man Found Dead Back to the Chattahoochee Returns This Weekend

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Canton Woman Dies After Shooting Near Birmingham Crossroads in Milton

Milton police arrest father of victim's children at Cumming hospital.

UPDATED 8:50 P.M.: A 25-year-old Canton woman is dead after a shooting near Birmingham Crossroads in Milton Sunday afternoon, and the father of her two children is in custody. Christopher M. Erdman, 25, of Cumming, has been arrested in the shooting of Shannon Lawrence, according to Capt. Shawn McCarty of the Milton Police Department. Lawrence was shot four times in the face and neck in the parking lot of a mostly empty shopping center at 15780 Birmingham Highway. McCarty said the couple had two children together but never married. They used the shopping center as the drop-off point when exchanging custody of the children. McCarty said it was unclear whether the children were at the scene during the shooting. Milton police responded to a …

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Jogger Finds Body Along Morris Road in Milton

No foul play suspected in death.

Shortly before 7 a.m. on May 23 a jogger found the body of a deceased 22-year-old man at 13010 Morris Road, which is near the lake. He had a gunshot wound to the head. At this time police do not suspect foul play. The body is with the Medical Examiner at the crime lab for testing, according to Milton's Communications department.  

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