S e p t e m b e r 2 2 , 2 0 2 2 | A p p e n M e d i a . c o m | A n A p p e n M e d i a G r o u p P u b l i c a t i o n | 5 0 ¢ | Vo l u m e 2 5 , N o . 3 8
Forsyth County commissioners deny bid to expand cricket fields By ALEXANDER POPP alex@appenmedia.com FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — In a unanimous decision Sept. 16, the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners denied pending requests to expand The Fields at Keith Bridge, an outdoor facility just
south of Millwood Road. Commissioners voted down the proposal 5-0 after hearing from local homeowners in the area and stakeholders for the project by the Atlanta Cricket Fields. The proposal, presented by attorney Ethan Underwood, would have added a cricket practice field to a 7.3-acre portion of
the facility’s northwestern edge and would be used for children’s cricket practice. Underwood said their plans go against the property’s original conditional use permit, which prohibits athletic fields being built within 450 feet of Cantrell Circle, a nearby street. “It doesn’t say ‘concession stand,’ it
doesn’t say ‘training facilities,’ it doesn’t say the property cannot be used, it just says athletic fields,” Underwood said. “Our clients are victims of their own success, they’ve had a lot of folks go out there, and now they’re looking to put in
See CRICKET, Page 16
New crisis hotline logs high volume in first six weeks
By AMBER PERRY amber@appenmedia.com
ALEX POPP/APPEN MEDIA
Art for the sake of art
Young art enthusiasts listen to a street musician performing at the Cumming City Center during the inaugural Cumming Art Fest on Sunday, Sept. 18. Read more, Page 8.
ATLANTA — While data collection is still in the early stages, the 9-8-8 Georgia Steering Committee informed the public of trends seen in the first 45 days of the program’s rollout at a Sept. 7 webinar. “Just over 50 days ago we took the first steps down a long road towards transforming Georgia’s crisis system and making it easy for those experiencing a behavioral health crisis to know who to call in an emergency,” said Judy Fitzgerald, Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD) commissioner. In 2020, Congress designated the new 9-8-8 dialing code to be operated through the existing National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Beginning July 16 of this year, individuals in crisis could call or text 9-8-8 for 24/7 care. “The similarity to 9-1-1 was a message to everyone, saying the behavioral health crisis needs to be at the forefront here,”
See HOTLINE, Page 4