The school board of a small central Ohio community voted unanimously Friday to fire a teacher accused of preaching his Christian beliefs despite staff complaints and using a device to burn the image of a cross on students' arms.School board members voted 5-0 to fire Mount Vernon Middle School science teacher John Freshwater. Board attorney David Millstone said Freshwater is entitled to a hearing to challenge the dismissal.
Freshwater denies wrongdoing and will request such a hearing, the teacher's attorney, Kelly Hamilton, told the Mount Vernon News.
School board members met a day after the consulting firm H.R. On Call Inc. released its report on the teacher's case.
The report came a week after a family filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Columbus against Freshwater and the school district, saying Freshwater burned a cross on a child's arm that remained for three or four weeks.
Freshwater's friend Dave Daubenmire defended him.
"With the exception of the cross-burning episode. ... I believe John Freshwater is teaching the values of the parents in the Mount Vernon school district," he told The Columbus Dispatch for a story published Friday.
Several students interviewed by investigators described Freshwater, who has been employed by the school district located 40 miles northeast of Columbus for 21 years, as a great guy and their favorite teacher.
But Lynda Weston, the district's director of teaching and learning, told investigators that she has dealt with complaints about Freshwater for much of her 11-year term at the district, the report said.
A former superintendent, Jeff Maley, said he tried to find another position for Freshwater but couldn't because he was certified only in science, the report said.
Freshwater used a science tool known as a high-frequency generator to burn images of a cross on students' arms in December, the report said. Freshwater told investigators he simply was trying to demonstrate the device on several students and described the images as an "X," not a cross. But pictures show a cross, the report said.
Other findings show that Freshwater taught that carbon dating was unreliable to argue against evolution.
Martha Stewart Banned From Britain
Martha Stewart has been banned from Britain -- but she got a warm welcome Friday in Poland, her grandparents' homeland.
The lifestyle guru was planning to visit Britain in the coming days for business engagements, but the Daily Telegraph and other British newspapers reported Friday that she was denied permission to enter because of her 2004 conviction for obstructing justice.
Stewart's assistants confirmed the visa denial, but they gave no other details beyond saying they hope the decision will be reversed.
"Martha loves England; the country and English culture are near and dear to her heart," said Charles Koppelman, chairman of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. "She has engagements with English companies and business leaders and hopes this can be resolved so that she will be able to visit soon."
On Friday evening in Warsaw, it would have been hard to tell that the headache was hanging over her head.
In an elegant home goods shop in the glistening Golden Terraces mall in downtown Warsaw, Stewart was feted by fans eager for a glimpse of the homemaking expert turned business tycoon.
She was in the Polish capital to promote her Martha Stewart Living magazine, which was recently launched in Polish, and to open an exhibition of her photographs, scenes of landscapes and gardens that she took herself.
During a brief speech, Stewart made a point of stressing the link she feels to the country where all four of her grandparents were born -- and crediting its hearty cuisine for providing inspiration in the kitchen.
She said that her mother, who was "a fabulous cook," taught her to make traditional Polish delicacies like pierogies, the traditional Polish stuffed dumplings; kielbasa, the Polish-style sausage; and babka, a spongy yeast cake popular at Easter.
"As a Polish-American, I feel a strong connection to this beautiful country and to its people," she said. "This trip is a wonderful opportunity for me to connect with my heritage."
Despite her roots, Stewart is not widely known in Poland -- though her legal troubles brought her a degree of attention for the first time.
In 2004, Stewart was convicted in federal court of conspiracy, obstruction of justice and making false statements related to a personal sale of ImClone Systems Inc. stock. She got a five-month prison sentence, and also served an additional five months and three weeks of home confinement.
A Home Office spokeswoman, however, refused to comment about Stewart's entry to Britain, but added: "We continue to oppose the entry to the U.K. of individuals where we believe their presence in the United Kingdom is not conducive to the public good or where they have been found guilty of serious criminal offenses abroad."
British and U.S. citizens generally enjoy visa-free travel between their countries. However, people with certain convictions must apply for visas.
The lifestyle guru was planning to visit Britain in the coming days for business engagements, but the Daily Telegraph and other British newspapers reported Friday that she was denied permission to enter because of her 2004 conviction for obstructing justice.
Stewart's assistants confirmed the visa denial, but they gave no other details beyond saying they hope the decision will be reversed.
"Martha loves England; the country and English culture are near and dear to her heart," said Charles Koppelman, chairman of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. "She has engagements with English companies and business leaders and hopes this can be resolved so that she will be able to visit soon."
On Friday evening in Warsaw, it would have been hard to tell that the headache was hanging over her head.
In an elegant home goods shop in the glistening Golden Terraces mall in downtown Warsaw, Stewart was feted by fans eager for a glimpse of the homemaking expert turned business tycoon.
She was in the Polish capital to promote her Martha Stewart Living magazine, which was recently launched in Polish, and to open an exhibition of her photographs, scenes of landscapes and gardens that she took herself.
During a brief speech, Stewart made a point of stressing the link she feels to the country where all four of her grandparents were born -- and crediting its hearty cuisine for providing inspiration in the kitchen.
She said that her mother, who was "a fabulous cook," taught her to make traditional Polish delicacies like pierogies, the traditional Polish stuffed dumplings; kielbasa, the Polish-style sausage; and babka, a spongy yeast cake popular at Easter.
"As a Polish-American, I feel a strong connection to this beautiful country and to its people," she said. "This trip is a wonderful opportunity for me to connect with my heritage."
Despite her roots, Stewart is not widely known in Poland -- though her legal troubles brought her a degree of attention for the first time.
In 2004, Stewart was convicted in federal court of conspiracy, obstruction of justice and making false statements related to a personal sale of ImClone Systems Inc. stock. She got a five-month prison sentence, and also served an additional five months and three weeks of home confinement.
A Home Office spokeswoman, however, refused to comment about Stewart's entry to Britain, but added: "We continue to oppose the entry to the U.K. of individuals where we believe their presence in the United Kingdom is not conducive to the public good or where they have been found guilty of serious criminal offenses abroad."
British and U.S. citizens generally enjoy visa-free travel between their countries. However, people with certain convictions must apply for visas.
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