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Tuesday, November 10, 2026Nov 10

In wake of counselor controversy, Dalton churches grapple with their role

Jenna Overby and her husband, Grant, saw Daniel Staats from 2010-13, when they say he began to make sexual overtures they felt were inappropriate.
Jenna Overby and her husband, Grant, saw Daniel Staats from 2010-13, when they say he began to make sexual overtures they felt were inappropriate. Jenna Overby and her husband, Grant, saw Daniel Staats from 2010-13, when they say he began to make sexual overtures they felt were inappropriate.
photo Jenna Overby and her husband, Grant, saw Daniel Staats from 2010-13, when they say he began to make sexual overtures they felt were inappropriate.
photo Daniel Staats, who runs Helping the Hurting in Dalton, faces a charge of sexual assault by a psychotherapist

DALTON, Ga. – After dinner, the Rev. Gary Mimbs knew the problems he heard were beyond his reach.

He visited Jenna Overby and her husband, Grant, at the recommendation of a mutual friend in 2010. The Overbys had gotten married less than a year earlier. They bought a house. Then, Grant’s bosses cut his work in half. Jenna, who had suffered from anxiety and depression, took on a new job, one she didn’t quite grasp yet.

She needed to succeed. There were medical bills. There was that fresh mortgage.

Given Jenna Overby’s psychological history, Mimbs believed the couple should see an expert. If money was an issue, he said, he knew a guy who worked on the cheap: Daniel Staats, a Christian counselor. Staats ran a non-profit, allowing clients to pay whatever felt comfortable.

Staats was a calming presence to Jenna Overby, and she visited him monthly for three years, even after moving to Knoxville.