Colorado Springs nightclub
shooter sentenced to life.
INSIDE, 4A
Tuesday, June 27, 2023 | GAINESVILLE, GEORGIA | gainesvilletimes.com
Man accused of drive-by
shooting at insurance office.
INSIDE, 3A
Honestly Local
Gainesville driver accused of kicking deputy
Barnhardt
BY NICK WATSON
nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com
A Gainesville man was
accused of striking a patrol
car and later kicking a
deputy after a chase Sun
day on Ga. 365 in Haber
sham County, according to
authorities.
William Ray Barnhardt,
45, was charged with
aggravated assault on a
law enforcement officer,
obstruction of an officer,
tampering with evidence
and various drug possession
charges.
A Habersham County
Sheriff’s Office corporal
pulled over William Ray
Barnhardt, 45, for erratic
driving and an improper
lane change around 2:25 a.m.
Sunday on Ga. 365 near Iron
Ore Road near Demorest.
Habersham County offi
cials said Barnhardt reached
around inside his van when
asked for his license, claim
ing he was trying to secure
his dog.
But when he was ordered
to step out of the van, he put
the car in drive and sped
away, Habersham County
spokesman Rob Moore wrote
in a news release.
Three officers tried to box
the vehicle in, but Barnhardt
struck the patrol vehicle
almost head-on, Moore said.
Law enforcement pursued
■ Please see DRIVER, 3A
Divine Discord
Photos by SCOTT ROGERS I The Times
First Baptist Church associate pastor for missions Ruth Demby is proud of her church for continuing to allow women to be pastors
at the church. The church has severed ties with Southern Baptist denomination after it expelled two member churches for allowing
women to be pastors.
Gainesville Baptists split over womens roles in church
The SBC has long held that the pulpit is reserved for men, but
the recent ruling is believed to be the first time any churches
have been expelled over the issue. So far this year, five churches
have been expelled for having female pastors.
BY BEN ANDERSON
banderson@
gainesvilletimes.com
Gainesville’s Southern Bap
tists have become embroiled
in an age-old debate over the
role of women in the church,
following a recent ruling by
the denomination that for
bids women from serving as
pastors.
On one side of the debate
are the conservatives, who
argue that the Bible clearly
forbids women from holding
the office of pastor. On the
other side are the liberals,
who say that Scripture is open
to interpretation and can be
used to justify various beliefs
about the status of women in
the church.
The senior pastor at First
Baptist Church of Gainesville,
Jeremy Shoulta, recently
issued a scathing rebuke of
the Southern Baptist Conven
tion, announcing in a public
letter to his 2,000-member
congregation that their
church would be cutting all
ties with the nation’s largest
Protestant denomination.
Ruth Demby, one of two
women pastors at First Bap
tist, told The Times that the
widening schism over wom
en’s role in the church won’t
have a major impact on their
congregation.
“Philosophically, we broke
with them when we were
ordaining women as deacons
and then pastors, but we were
in cooperation with them in
missions, and we also had
our retirement and insurance
through their organization,”
said Demby, who has been a
pastor at First Baptist since
2008 and a member since
1996. “Oddly enough, I think
it’s been almost a positive
thing for our church because
there’s been such an outpour
ing of love and affirmation
from so many people of all
ages and sexes, and so I think
it’s helped us appreciate what
we have here.... I’ve also got
ten texts, calls and emails
from all over the country,
and even got one from (a mis
sionary in) Uganda the other
day.”
On June 12, the Southern
Baptist Convention’s nearly
12,000 messengers voted
9-to-l to finalize the expul
sion of two churches for
ordaining female pastors,
including a megachurch in
California founded by best
selling author and retired
pastor Rick Warren, who
accused the Southern Baptists
of wanting to “take the SBC
back to the 1950s when white
men ruled supreme and when
the woman’s place was in the
home.”
The SBC has long held
that the pulpit is reserved
for men, but the recent rul
ing is believed to be the first
time any churches have been
expelled over the issue. So far
this year, five churches have
been expelled for having
female pastors.
‘They have strayed
from the word of God’
The Times reached out
to a number of other Baptist
churches in Gainesville to
ask them about this turning
point in the denomination’s
178-year history and where
they stand on the question of
female pastorship. The two
that responded — Flat Creek
Baptist Church and Amistad
Cristiana International —
said they support the ban.
“It really boils down to a
scripture issue,” said Zack
Williams, senior pastor at
Flat Creek Baptist Church,
whose views are based on a
fundamentalist or literalist
interpretation of the Bible.
More than 60% of Southern
Baptists are biblical literal-
ists, according to the Pew
Research Center.
“If you start to believe that
the Bible is up for your own
interpretation and that it’s not
inerrant, and that you can
basically say, ‘Well, what (the
Apostle) Paul wrote in this
section wasn’t actually what
God intended, or that portion
wasn’t inspired,’ well, now the
entire Bible falls apart, so
now you can begin to make
the Bible say anything you
want it to say, and that’s
really where the danger is,”
Williams said.
He added: “My heart
grieves for First Baptist
Gainesville and all these
other churches .. because
in my eyes and (in) the eyes
of many of the messengers of
the Southern Baptist Conven
tion, they have strayed from
the word of God.”
Javier Chavez, senior pas
tor at Amistad Cristiana Inter
national, a Hispanic church
in Gainesville, said the issue
is both a matter of scripture
and of tradition.
“I do understand that there
has been a lot of discussion,
a lot of conversations about
the possibility of including
women as part of the role of a
pastor. However, personally,
I do not see that as a biblical
aspect,” Chavez said. “The
■ Please see CHURCH, 3A
Gainesville
city school
board adopts
final budget
BY BEN ANDERSON
banderson@gainesvilletimes.com
The Gainesville city school board on Tues
day adopted its final budget and tax rate for the
2023-24 fiscal year.
The previous year’s tax rate of 6.195 mills will
remain unchanged.
School board treasurer Sammy Smith said
that is 0.66 mills less than the tax rate in 2018.
“That’s good management,” he said. “And it’s
good for the taxpayer.”
The tax rate is measured in mills. A mill is
equal to $1 per $1,000 in taxable property value.
In Gainesville, property is taxed at 100% of its
value. A $400,000 home, for example, would
yield an annual tax bill of $2,478.
The school system will see the largest one-
year increase in costs in its history — from
$82.5 million to $96.5 million — mainly due to
employee raises, new hires and a sharp increase
annual health insurance premiums, from
$11,340 to $18,960 per employee, for an addi
tional cost of $4.2 million.
Employee salaries and benefits account for
about 85 % of the district’s budget. Teachers will
receive a $2,000 raise and more step increases,
while classified employees (e.g. custodians, bus
drivers, nurses) will receive a 5% pay raise.
The extra costs will be partly offset by a
nearly three-fold increase in property tax rev
enue, from $3.9 million to $9.7 million.
During early budget talks, district officials
anticipated using $1 million to $2 million of
more than $20 million in reserve funds. But
Superintendent Jeremy Williams said Tuesday
that they will only have to use about $300,000.
Local woman
faces charges in
$50,000 scam
BY NICK WATSON
nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com
A Gainesville woman was accused of scam-
ming nearly $50,000 from people in a immigra
tion-related scheme, police said.
Olga Beatrice Villarreal, 51, was charged with
three felony counts of theft by
deception. She was booked
Sunday, June 25, in to the Hall
County Jail, where she is being
held on a bond.
Gainesville Police Lt. Kevin
Holbrook said there have
been three alleged victims
identified so far, involving
$25,000, $17,000 and $6,000,
respectively.
From September to now,
police said Villarreal claimed she could process
a person’s “immigration status in an expedited
manner.”
Holbrook said the Gainesville woman later
extorted more money through “threatening
means,” though he did not have specifics on
what those means were.
The lieutenant said Villarreal was not
employed by any immigration service or related
federal agency.
Police believe that there are likely others out
there who may have been scammed, but Hol
brook said some may be fearful of Villarreal or
fearful because of their immigration status.
Magistrate Court officials said Villarreal was
granted an $8,000 bond, but she remained in the
jail Monday, June 26.
Defense attorney Arturo Corso said he was
gathering information on the case when reached
for comment Monday, reminding people that an
“accusation is not a conviction.”
“Like with any one, the law presumes that
she is innocent,” Corso said in a statement. “She
learned of the charges and turned herself in vol
untarily. That says a lot.”
Villarreal
