An Ohio teacher burnt a cross on at least one student's arm, which stay imprinted on the kid's skin for almost a month, and somehow managed to escape arrest in this, the 21st century.
Question: if a burn lasts three to four weeks... why was the teacher who caused the injury not fired for it by the time this story leaked?
A public school teacher preached his Christian beliefs despite complaints by other teachers and administrators and used a device to burn the image of a cross on students' arms, according to a report by independent investigators.
Mount Vernon Middle School teacher John Freshwater also taught creationism in his science class and was insubordinate in failing to remove a Bible and other religious materials from his classroom, the report said.
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.
What does a guy gotta do to get fired in an Ohio school district? Don't tell Mary Kay Letourneau about this story...
A former superintendent, Jeff Maley, said he tried to find another position for Freshwater but couldn't because Freshwater was certified only in science, the report said.
Whoever certified this certifiable nut in "science" oughta get slapped with an endangering the welfare of a child charge.
Meanwhile, it took a week after a federal lawsuit was filed by one family for the story to get picked up in the media. Check out this class response to the suit by a friend of Freshwater's:
"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..."
Not anymore he isn't, thank God. We hear the results of a staff meeting on Friday determined, after a long, long saga (during which Freshwater was apparently allowed to continue teaching), that the science teacher was a goner.
More dark comedy via the AP.