Freshwater Speaks Tonight

By way of background and for those unfamiliar with the John Freshwater story, I will briefly recap it and provide you a few resources to further your knowledge. John Freshwater is a middle school science teacher who dared to bring his faith into the classroom. He dared to have a Judeo-Christian Bible visible on top of his desk in his classroom. Mark it now, this is not the Soviet Union, Red China or Saudi Arabia where it was or still is illegal to possess a Bible, it is rural small-town Mount Vernon, Ohio.

FRESHWATER IN HOT WATER

His refusal to acquiesce his first amendment rights landed Freshwater in hot water. After 20 years of teaching in an excellent fashion in that school district he is facing termination of his teaching contract.

“Did Christian Teacher “Brand” His Students?” is an excellent article written by Lee Duigon last month for Calcedon Foundation. The article brings us up-to-date on the events related to the John Freshwater controversy. We have also written a series of articles about Mr. Freshwater, which you can review here.

FRESHWATER GETS HIS DAY AT IN “COURT”

Tonight, Monday, August 4, at 7:30 P.M. at the Mount Vernon City Schools Board Meeting, which by the way is the last one before John Freshwater’s termination appeal hearing on August 26, Mr. Freshwater will be making a public statement. Don Matolyak (www.BibleOnTheDesk.com), John Freshwater’s Pastor, has urged all Bible-believing Christians in Mount Vernon and surrounding areas to attend this important board meeting and to show support for Mr. Freshwater. The school board meeting will be held in the Middle School Library.

At the July 7, 2008 School Board meeting six people spoke in support of Mr. Freshwater. One person spoke against him. In his comments, Sam Barone thanked the Board for firing John and said that there were thousands in Mt. Vernon who supported this action. However, there were only a half-dozen supporters of the school board’s action in attendance, while supporters of John Freshwater numbered 90.

Mr. Barone wishfully implied that support for Freshwater is waning. Pastor Matolyak put it this way, “I believe Mr. Barone put out a challenge for Evangelical, Bible-believing Christians to come and support a wonderful and an excellent teacher in his quest to keep his job teaching Eighth Grade Science and his Bible on his desk. Because John is intending to make a public statement, I am sure there will be a number of the media in attendance.”

WATCH THE MEDIA'S COVERAGE

Just a note, the media, especially the Columbus Dispatch, coverage has been grossly slanted in favor of the termination and condemnation of John Freshwater. It was the Dispatch that published the results of the investigator's report even before it was discussed by the school board or provided to Mr. Freshwater. Their coverage of the trial emphasized only those areas that present Freshwater in a negative light. For example, a large rally and follow-up prayer gathering were ignored, even though the press received notice of the events. I am sure the press will be there tonight and spin their account in anyway but positive or balanced.

John Freshwater, Back in the News, Nationally

Righting First Amendment Wrongs

This article includes an update on the John Freshwater Bible-on-the-Desk controversy as well as a video which outlines what is behind the attack on Christian teachers such as John Freshwater.

I have not written about John Freshwater very much lately. The alleged President has sidetracked me with all of his socialist shenanigans. So I now return, attempting to catch up on the John Freshwater story. John Freshwater is the middle school science teacher in sleepy little Mount Vernon, Ohio, who got in trouble by refusing to take his personal Bible off of his desk when told to do so by a superior. Subsequently the school administration disciplined him for allegedly marking a student’s arm with a Tesla coil during a science class demonstration. Also, he was accused of being too much of a Christian in his role as a public school teacher. Today our godless secular humanistic educational system frowns on anyone or anything that apparently even thinks a thought about God or, His Son, Jesus Christ. God forbid!

THE CONTRACT HEARING

Later this week (on Thursday and Friday) his contract hearing is scheduled to resume.

The Freshwater fiasco has been going on since the Spring of 2008. After over 20 years teaching in the Mount Vernon schools, he was suspended without pay since the end of the 2007-2008 school year for the issues named earlier. Last September Freshwater filed a civil lawsuit against the parents, who had accused him of marking their son with the Tesla coil. I believe that that lawsuit is moving through the courts.

THE NATIONAL MEDIA

Many newspapers, websites and blogs across Ohio and America reported that Freshwater filed a lawsuit against the Mount Vernon School District for $1 million on Monday, June 8, 2009. That lawsuit with its 16 counts can be read here. His lawsuit has definitely garnered attention.

Much of the leftist media, websites and blogs have nothing positive to say about Freshwater. They consider him to be a foolish Creationists/Intelligent Design adherent, who rejects evolutionary ‘science,’ which in reality is just an unproven theory itself. The education elite even balk at merely teaching the weaknesses of the unproven theory of evolution, so much for academic freedom. Can you spell (the movie) E-X-P-E-L-L-E-D?

Here is an example of what is being written in the leftist press. Steve Gobles wrote in the Mansfield (Ohio) News-Journal, “Basically, he is accused of undermining legitimate science -- evolution theory -- and pressing make-believe "science" based on Scripture . . . The lawsuit -- and its hefty $1 million asking price -- could have an impact that goes well beyond Mount Vernon and Ohio. Superintendents elsewhere have to contend with teachers who think Genesis is a science textbook, too, and so they will be watching closely." This is a natural evolution of taking God and the Bible out of our schools in the sixties. What we have is chaos and a broken and failed educational system.

Yesterday, David Hart blamed Freshwater in the Boiled Frog blog article for the failures on our present education system,

"While I expect that Freshwater's complaint in federal court will be dismissed, the damage has been done. Students have embraced mythology and superstition in contrast to real science. Our fifteen year-olds are in the bottom fourth of the 30 largest industrialized nations in math and science scores. "Teachers" like Freshwater bear some measure of responsibility for that failure. Moreover, Freshwater has created another group of homophobic bigots. Also disturbing is the idea that Freshwater was comfortable with outright lies about his conduct. It appears that he feels that he is permitted to lie in furtherance of Christianity. Apparently "false witness" can be applied selectively."

This is absolutely ludicrous. Freshwater's science class were the best of the three middle school science classes as far as state testing scores. Quite the opposite, Freshwater and other Christan teachers are actually trying to hold the tide of further regression and failure of our schools, not the cause of its failure. The number one cause of underperforming, unproductive schools is the expulsion of God, the Bible and Judeo-Christian values and principles from our schools!

Realistically, academic freedom is non-existent on most American campuses. It was thrown out in the 1960s with God and the Bible. You can mark a progressive decline of education in this nation since that point in history. It has reached a climax where here an outstanding, award-winning, teacher beloved by his students is given the ax on some freedom-of-faith robbing charges and some trumped up charges to purge him from the indoctrination center. He doesn’t fit the program or profile of what is a ‘good’ teacher in the eyes of the bureaucrats.

Last night (Monday) there is a School Board Meeting, which I was not able to attend. This is the first meeting following the filing of the lawsuit by Mr. Freshwater. It will be interesting to see if that lawsuit changes anything surrounding the on-going contract hearing and the relationship between Freshwater and the school board and administration. Here is a recent newspaper report, "Citizens square off with MV school board," of the public comments, mostly favorable to Mr. Freshwater, recorded at the Mount Vernon School Board Meeting last night. See also Accountablility in the Media's videos of some of the public hearing portion of the Mount Vernon School Board meeting.

Although I do not agree with many of the editorial comments and slant of Richard Hoppe in his Panda's Thumb blog, he does articulate a nice summary of the Freshwater fiasco in his article titled, "Freshwater brings suit against Board of Education." In that article he predicts, "The hearing is scheduled to resume on June 18, but in light of this new federal lawsuit and the refusal of the Board members to testify in the hearing, it’s unlikely that date will be kept."

Many people from both sides of this controversy are following this important case. I believe that the first amendment rights of John Freshwater, other teachers and other Americans are at stake her. Unfortunately, we are turning more and more from being a fundamentally Christian nation into a godless, secular socialistic state. Even the current occupier of the White House denies that America is a Christian nation, extolling our 'large' Muslim population instead, in his anti-American jaunts to the Europe and the Middle East.

However, we were undeniably established as a Judeo-Christian centric nation and the vast majority of Americans consider ourselves as still being Christian. It is the elite who have maneuvered into positions of power and control in Washington, in academia, in science, in entertainment, in the media, and in much of corporate America - all would rather be politically correct than honest. They along with the ACLU, People for the American Way and 'Americans' United for the Separation of Church and State are seeking to undermine the foundation upon which this nation was built and stands. They would rather revise America's history than accept something that opposes their skewed beliefs and values, which are all antithetical to those of our founding fathers.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Here is a video, which I found on the Values Voters News website. It describes what is really underlying the attack on John Freshwater and his Bible and Christianity here in America. John Freshwater is briefly mentioned in this video.

John Freshwater’s Inquisition (Contract Hearing) Resumes

This article will recap the John Freshwater case, which has gained national attention this past year. One news summary by Patti Wiginton is included as an example of what is circulating on the Internet and in news stories. This article will also provide an update on when the next hearing will take place.

NEXT HEARING DATES

According to the SupportFreshwater.com website Mr. Freshwater’s hearing will pick up again on Tuesday January 6. Hearing dates that have been set for January 2008: 6-9th and 14-16. Most, if not all, of the time taken during these dates will be for testimony. Additional dates are possible.

TYPICAL NEWS ACCOUNT

In year-end recaps of top newsworthy stories of 2008, the story of John Freshwater is included in many of them. Here is how Patti Wigington of About.com summarized the John Freshwater story in her year-end review of Schools and Religion on her Patti's Paganism / Wicca Blog.

“In Ohio, the case of John Freshwater made lots of news. You may remember Freshwater - he's the teacher who was told not to bring his Bible to class. Students then supported him by bringing their own Bibles in. The whole situation created a battleground, pitting neighbor against neighbor, and parents were concerned about the divisive learning environment. Later, Freshwater was fired after he "branded" students with a high-frequency generator.”

THE REAL FRESHWATER STORY

You didn’t quite get the story accurate, Patti. I have followed this case and have written extensively on it.

First, the popular, award-winning middle school science teacher was told to remove posters including one with a inspirational posture of Colin Powell with a Bible verse and other “objectionable” postings in his classroom. He complied. However, when his new principal told him to remove his personal Bible from the top of his classroom desk (where he had kept it for 20 years), and hide it in his desk drawer, he refused.

This precipitated the school administration and school board to trump up additional charges in order to justify his eventual termination.

Second, the school board authorized a supposedly independent investigator to look into this case and make a recommendation. Among the things that were investigated was the complaint of the disgruntled parents of a young man who allegedly was harmed by a Tesla coil experiment, which Mr. Freshwater and other teachers routinely conducted as a science experiment. These parents sued the school board and Mr. Freshwater. Subsequently, Freshwater filed a counter suit against these parents. Those cases are working their way through the court system.

Third, in addition to the hiring of an investigating agency, the school and school board assigned a class monitor (Gestapo) to sit in on Mr. Freshwater’s classes the remainder of the school year. This all came to a head, I believe, in April of last year. In June, and based on Mr. Freshwater’s insubordination and based on the findings of the investigator the school board recommended that Mr. Freshwater’s contract not be renewed (employment termination.)

As was his right under the teachers’ union contract, Mr. Freshwater appealed the decision and demanded a hearing that began and was conducted for several days in October 2008 and continued for several more days in December 2008 and will apparently conclude next week (January 6 -9.) Most of the hearing will be testimony of various parties involved with the case. The hearing is being conducted before an Ohio Department of Education referee, who will make a recommendation to the School Board after reviewing all the testimony and facts of the case.

Since the end of last school year, Mr. Freshwater has been suspended without pay. I understand that he is working part-time jobs including working as a part time substitute teacher.

This situation is representative of what is going on in the now openly godless, pagan taxpayer funded government schools. Operating under a freedom-destroying, false premise of “separation of church and state” the Mount Vernon (Ohio) City School Board wants to punish this man who practices his in public.

A person’s faith, unlike his gun, need not be checked and confiscated at the entrance of the school house. There is a lot a stake in this case, beyond what happens to John Freshwater.

THE FUTURE OF EDUCATION IN AMERICA FOR CHRISTIANS

Our schools have been so corrupted by the removal of Christianity and of Christian influences. The vacuum is being filled by the false religion of secular humanism. Public schools may now be beyond reform. It just may be time for true Christians to yank all of their children out of these snake-pits, these literal hell-holes, and these far left wing indoctrination centers and look for alternatives such as home schooling.

In fact, there is a growing movement by organizations such as Exodus Mandate to encourage, support and facilitate students fleeing the inept and toxic government run institutions.

LEARN MORE

Previous A Good Choice . . . articles
BibleOnTheDesk.com
SupportFreshwater.com

HOW YOU CAN HELP NOW

You can also help John Freshwater with his legal costs by sending a check to:

The Community Council for Free Expression

c/o Trinity Assembly of God

1051 Beech Street

Mount Vernon, Ohio 43050

Freshwater Firing: It’s Not “About Time” It’s About Truth

Righting 1st Amendment Wrongs



A Hatchet Job on the Truth

The lead editorial, on at least the online edition of Thursday’s Columbus Dispatch, further fuels the fire of public opinion against recently fired middle school science teach John Freshwater. Although he has 10 days from the receipt of his official termination notice to appeal the school board’s decision to terminate his employment, which he received this week, the newspaper editors continued to lambaste and pronounce him guilty. A week ago the disgraceful Dispatch “leaked” a copy of the investigator’s report to the public. Now before he has a chance to appeal to the school board, the disgusting Dispatch editors throw more salt into the wounds of John Freshwater and issue this scathing editorial last Thursday.

In its editorial hit piece, “About time,” the editor’s praised the school board decision to terminate John Freshwater. Yet, it condemned the school board for not doing it sooner. The newspaper in its reporting and its editorializing continued to refused to note the positives or position of John Freshwater, so intent were they to besmirch, denigrate and ostracise this man.

What was not mentioned was the fact that Mr. Freshwater was named “Teacher of the Year” twice including in 2007. They refused to mention that he was beloved as a teacher by many of the his current and former students. Recently, his science class students had the best results of all the science classes for his grade in Mount Vernon City School system. Nary, no, the despicable Dispatch account were absolutely silent on the accomplishments of this teacher. However they did not hesitate to scorn him, to mock him because of his beliefs, to accuse him, to condemned him and the Mount Vernon school board, his supporters, and even the citizens of Mount Vernon who supported this godly, excellent teacher. Dispatch, I think your bias is showing

I think this editorial was a character assignation by one of the mouthpieces of the most leftist and liberal elements of society.

About time
Teacher who undermined science should have been reined in long ago

Thursday, June 26, 2008

The Mount Vernon Board of Education's decision to fire teacher John Freshwater for failing to stick to science in his science classroom is justified by the evidence turned up in an independent investigation.

The question is why it took 11 years for the board to challenge Freshwater.

Parents and other teachers have been complaining for at least that long about Freshwater's persistent incorporation of his Christian beliefs into his classroom teaching.

Truth #1
Ignored in this editorial was what precipitated the controversy in the first place, which was Mr. Freshwater’s refusal to remove his personal Bible from the top of his classroom desk. All this other rubbish is a smokescreen for that fact.

Truth #2
When the Ohio curriculum permitted the teaching of Intelligent Design (I.D.), Mr. Freshwater did so. Some in the Mount Vernon schools where greatly irritated by the fact that he taught I.D. When it no longer was a part of the accepted curriculum he said that he stopped. However, elements in the school system administrator and other teachers continued to harbor resentment against John Freshwater.

If asked by the students whether he believed in evolution, how could he answer it other than saying it had serious scientific flaws and that the students should look at the strengths and weaknesses of the theory and make up their own minds? Is this wrong? It seems to me that it is just serious scientific inquiry.

He used his classroom to push his religious views by displaying Bible-related posters, calling other faiths false and telling students that homosexuality is a sin. Such proselytizing in a public school violates the constitutional ban on government establishment of religion. But Freshwater went further: He undermined those parts of the approved science curriculum that don't comport with his beliefs. In doing so, he misled his students and failed in his fundamental duty as a science teacher.

Truth #3
Freshwater had a poster of Colin Powell regarding leadership with a Bible verse. He displayed the Ten Commandments in a collage of historical documents. What is wrong with that?

Truth #4
He called other faiths false. That is absolutely correct. Jesus Christ said of Himself, “I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father, but through Me.” This is the belief of all true Christians. This was John Freshwater's belief. Does he not have a right to that belief? Our founding fathers knew this. Why is it so hard for the leftists elements of America to recognize it? I know why, because it collapses the foundation of their secular humanist belief system.
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Truth #5
If he expressed his opinion or belief that homosexuality is sin or wrong, that like it or not, is the truth. Like adultery, stealing, lying, etc. Homosexual behavior is immoral. It may not be politically correct. It may not be an acceptable tenet of the Secular Humanist faith. But it is the truth. Homosexual behavior is abnormal, unhealthy, immoral and unnatural.

Truth #6
This is a boldface lie, “Such proselytizing in a public school violates the constitutional ban on government establishment of religion.” There is no such constitutional ban on government establishment of religion. There is a congressional ban on approving any denomination over another, making it a state church, but that is as far as the constitution goes. ACLU attorneys and activist judges must misinterpret the First Amendment to derive such poppycock as the imaginary “separation of church and state.”

Truth #7
Isn’t the “fundamental duty” of the teacher, to TEACH? It is not indoctrination.

Students told investigators that Freshwater told them, essentially, that the law required him to tell them about evolution, but that the theory is incorrect because it isn't supported by the Bible. That disservice to Mount Vernon students showed up in the testimony of eighth-grade and high-school teachers who said that students who had been in Freshwater's classes often had to be retaught the basics of evolution.

Truth #8
What was not told was the fact that Freshwater's science classes finished with the highest test scores this year than any other class same grade science class.

Evolution is incorrect because it is not scientific.

It could be argued that his students were better prepared than those of other teachers for upper level science classes. If all high school science teachers were asked the same question, instead of those prejudiced one that the investigators talked to, than we would have a more fair judgement.

This might have gone on longer if one student's parents hadn't taken an extraordinary complaint to Mount Vernon Middle School officials: that Freshwater used an electric device normally employed by teachers to ionize gases to burn marks on their son's arm in the shape of a cross.

Truth #9
This allegation still needs to be proven. It is the subject of a lawsuit. Doesn’t Mr. Freshwater get a chance to defend himself? Anyone can produce pictures showing anything to prove a point. But will that evidence hold up in court?

Even then, school officials did no more than to write Freshwater a letter, asking him not to use the device on children.

The misuse of an electrical tool that comes with a warning against contact with skin should have prompted an immediate investigation of Freshwater's teaching, not just a scolding.

But that's all he got, and three more months went by before Superintendent Stephen Short talked to Knox County Children Services about the branding of students. Only after a lawyer for the boy's parents threatened a lawsuit did officials make any attempt to rein in Freshwater's behavior. They ordered him to remove religious displays from his room, including a Bible he kept on his desk.

Truth #10
Maybe nothing was done about the “burning” because it was investigated and judged to be inconsequential. Maybe it is a non-issue. Only when pressure was brought on the school board, did they bring the issue up again in order to build up a what was a very weak case against Mr. Freshwater.

Freshwater declared himself a free-speech martyr, summoned the assistance of religious provocateur Dave Daubenmire and called a press conference. The ensuing hubbub revealed a disturbing degree of support for Freshwater by people who do not understand or value the difference between science and religion. But it also brought out those who appreciate the Constitution's prohibition on state advocacy of religion.

Truth #11
Unfortunately, John Freshwater is a “free-speech martyr.” He quoted on a recent Geraldo Rivera TV Show as saying, ““Asking any citizen to remove from view any symbol or any book that has deep significance to his or her life borders on tyranny.”

Truth #12
The hateful Dispatch called Dave Daubenmire a “provocateur.” A provocateur, by definition, is, “A secret agent who incites suspected persons to commit illegal acts.” Mr. Daubenmire, was one of the few Christians in the community to come to the defense of Mr. Freshwater. To defend his own rights or the rights of others, Dispatch editors, is not inciting anyone to commit illegal acts. Maybe in your America it is, but in mine it is not.

Most important for Mount Vernon students, it appears to have spurred the school board into doing what it should have done long ago: insisting that its science teachers respect and teach science.

Truth #13
It seems that,above all, the expectation of the Dispatch and those on the left in academia, media and public office is their insistence that teachers WORSHIP and teach AS SCIENCE even that which is clearly FALSE.

Truth #14
The bottom line is the secular humanists who control much of education, much of the legal system, and much of the media desire to purge all godly and Christian influence from our citadels (or is that cesspools) of learning. John Freshwater, as symbolized by insisting that he draw the line on compromise with the secular humanist agenda, by refusing to remove his personal Bible from his classroom desk, is a sacrificial lamb to the god of secular humanism.

Freshwater termination hearing Days 16 & 17

Righting First Amendment Wrongs

Do we still have the right to freely exercise our religion?

MOUNT VERNON, OHIO The following is a summary of the activities transpiring on Thursday and Friday, March 26 and 27 at the John Freshwater contract hearing. I previously posted an article about the Wednesday coverage, which I gleaned from newspaper reports on the Internet. I have been covering this saga since last spring; you can explore my previous articles.

I was able to attend Friday's session in person.

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DAY 16

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The following is a recap of Thursday hearing as obtained through online newspaper account on the MountVernonNews.com site and an article from the Columbus Dispatch site.

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BEN NIELSON

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Ben Nielson was a former student of John Freshwater last year. He was one of the major witnesses who were questioned on Thursday.

Reporter Pamela Schehl on MountVernonNews.com reported:

““That’s not Zach’s arm,” said Ben Nielson, former student of John Freshwater, as he testified late this afternoon in Freshwater’s contract termination hearing. Nielson said he had seen Zach Dennis’s arm the day after he was supposedly injured by Freshwater, and further stated the newspaper photo of the alleged injury did not match what he had seen in the flesh.

“Nielson said he had also volunteered for the Tesla coil experiment, and that’s why he and Dennis were discussing and comparing arms.”

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LYNDA WESTON

Ms. Lynda Weston, the former curriculum administrator for Mount Vernon schools, was one of the major witnesses on Thursday. She recently retired from her position.

According to Dean Narcisco's report on the Columbus Dispatch online:

“Lynda Weston told investigators hired by the district that she had fielded complaints about Freshwater for 11 years. Weston testified that she was told about incidents over that period but she could document complaints only since about 2002.

“She said Freshwater's charisma and popularity made him a danger to students.

“"If you have a great deal of influence with students, and if what you're teaching them is not recognized science, they are going to believe you."”

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DAY 17

I was able to attend the Friday, March 27 session. The morning session lasted around 3 hours, while the afternoon session took a short 30 minutes or less. Only one witness was interrogated during each session. As an interesting side note, there were approximately 30 people present in the hearing room and about six laptops.

The first witness was Julia Herlevi, one of the investigators and the afternoon witness was Jeff Cline, who was a friend of John Freshwater.

JULIA HERLEVI

Kelly Hamilton, John Freshwater’s attorney was very intense in his questioning of Julia Herlevi one of the two-person investigation team. She claimed to play second fiddle to her husband, Tom, who was the primary investigator. However, some of the people she had interviewed separately were key to this case. She and her husband interviewed John Freshwater initially. There was some indication that they were supposed to interview him a second time, but they never did.

Mrs. Herlevi stated that she did the proofing and editing of the investigation report, which was paid for and presented to the School Board. It was revealing that before the report had been finalized, it was given to the School Board’s attorney, David Millstone, for “clarification” prior to finalization. She thought that maybe one paragraph might have been changed as a result, again for “clarification.”

Mrs. Herlevi did not bring any of her notes from the investigation and was relying on her, what turned out, to be a faint memory of the facts of the investigation. Both attorneys had had copies and used portions of her notes which were previously subpoenaed. This did refresh her memory somewhat. It was revealed that neither she nor her husband used any type of audio recording equipment. Apparently that was their S.O.P.

RETEACHING MR. FRESHWATER’S STUDENTS

It was odd that the investigators interviewed High School social studies teachers to see if they had had to re-teach Mr. Freshwater’s students, because of what he taught them. There was a discussion about an allegation that Mr. Freshwater had made students memorize Bible verses. Mrs. Herlevi could not substantiate them.

THE DENNIS FAMILY

Three key individuals, Zach Dennis and his parents, apparently had not yet been scheduled to testify at the hearing. The Dennis family representative, who has had a seat at the table alongside the school board superintendent and the school board’s attorney Mr. Millstone, and who records the notes on her laptop, indicated that she would try to find out if the Dennis family were available for the hearing next week.

The testimony this week revealed some conflicts in Dennis’s allegations.

During one telling point in the questioning of Mrs. Herlevi, Kelly Hamilton asked why she did not pursue finding out more details about where on Zach Dennis’s arm that he was allegedly “branded,” “burned,” or “marked.” She said that because both the Dennis and Mr. Freshwater corroborated the fact of that the marking occurred, it was unnecessary to pursue it any further. [The implication to me was that this portion of the investigation was not very thorough. It should have been because it was such a big portion of the allegations against Mr. Freshwater.] Student Ben Nielson, who testified the previous day, doubted that the Tesla coil alone could have made such a mark on Zach’s arm. Ben even questioned whether the photos provided by the Dennis family were even of Ben’s arm.

BIBLES IN THE SCHOOL

Attorney Hamilton concluded his questioning of Mrs. Herlevi with some discussion of the following excerpt from page 13 of the HR On-Call investigation report, from the summary of the investigators’ interview with Mr. Freshwater:

“During our interview on May 15, 2008 Mr. Freshwater . . . also said he has a Bible beside desk on his lab table that he checked out of the school library. When asked if the school Bible was there to make a statement, he said, “Yes.””

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Mr. Hamilton concluded that the second sentence above was a subjective opinion and did not capture the true essence of what Mr. Freshwater was saying about having the second Bible in the room. During the interview and based on the notes that Mrs. Herlevi had written recording the interview. The Bible was there to show that the Bible had been checked out to many children through the years and that the school had purchased it. It was okay to have the Bible in the school; the school even had them in its library. Hamilton indicated that the investigators summary was not only subjective, but inflammatory.

JEFF CLINE

During the shortened afternoon session Jeff Cline testified. The questioning of Mr. Cline centered around the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) and the role of Mr. Freshwater in that group. He was the facilitator, monitor and supervisor of that extracurricular activity. Mr. Cline indicated that Mr. Freshwater had no direct leadership role in the FCA activities, in which Cline took part.

Also, there was some discussion regarding the April 16 rally on the public square for Mr. Freshwater, which Cline indicated Freshwater had no part in planning. Mr. Cline testified that Mr. Freshwater had a paperback Bible which he carried with him. The Bible, which Mr. Freshwater had on his desk was one of several Bibles owned by Mr. Freshwater. That particular Bible was kept on his desk.

During Mrs. Herlevi’s testimony, she seemed to imply that if the Bible that Mr. Freshwater kept on his desk was so personal, why didn’t he carry that one.

CONCLUSION

The referee in this case will have a great amount of testimony to sort through. I believe that Freshwater's attorney pointed out some flaws in the Investigators' report. The selection of interviewees appeared to be selective and geared to a specific outcome favoring the School Board. The investigators could have been more thorough and more objective. They should have interviewed John Freshwater a second time, the should have interviewed more students and teachers, and they did not seem to be very thorough on the location and description of the alleged "burn" or mark on Zach Dennis's arm. At this point there seems no clear cut "winner" to me.

OTHER RESOURCES/ACCOUNTS

*** AccountabilityintheMedia.com

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*** SupportFreshwater.com

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*** Richard B. Hoppe in his blog article, “Freshwater Hearing: Whose Arm? Some Contradictions,” offers additional details regarding the Thursday and Friday testimonies.

NEXT HEARING DATES

The hearing will continue next week on Thursday, April 2nd and Friday, April 3rd. The referee indicated that he would provide the attorneys and the Dennis’ attorney with the dates in May and June for which he would be available. This case started in October of 2008.

The John Freshwater Termination Hearing, Part 1

Righting First Amendment Wrongs

The public termination hearing for John Freshwater finally began earlier this month. The public hearing was at the request of John Freshwater. Part one of the hearing was held on Thursday, October 2, 2008, and Friday, October 3, 2008. The school board presented its side of the case. School Superintendent Steve Short, over the course of the two days, spent nearly eight hours being cross examined by the attorneys of the School District and Mr. Freshwater's Attorney.

The hearing recessed until Tuesday, October 28 and should be concluded this month. Beginning on Tuesday, October 28 John Freshwater will begin to present his side of the case before the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) referee. The hearing was to have been in two parts with the second beginning in mid October, however the attorneys had a conflict in their schedules so part 2 was reset to take place beginning tomorrow and conclude this week.

John Freshwater was suspended without pay since the summer and according to an OneNewsNow.com, a national news service, October 4, 2008 report, “John Freshwater has been working odd jobs in order to make ends meet while waiting to plead his case in an open hearing." The purpose of the hearing is to determine whether Freshwater will be able to keep his job as a science teacher at an Ohio public school.” Mr. Freshwater, a middle school science teacher refused to remove his personal bible from the top of his desk and the school district has trumped up additional charges and a case to have his teaching contract terminated. Among the charges are allegedly branding students during a science experiment, allegedly daring to question the theory of evolution in his past teaching (dating back to a time when teaching evolution was acceptable in Ohio), and daring to pray with a Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) group, which he was serving as monitor. He is also accused of teaching religion in class.

THURSDAY OCTOBER 3, 2008

According to the testimony reported on the Columbus Dispatch website on October 4, 2008 Steve Short, the Mount Vernon City School District Superintendent, admitted that he, too, had kept a Bible verse on the wall of his office (it was part of a picture the his son made for him) prior to the Freshwater investigation. The first day's hearing consisted of opening statements and questioning of Mr. Short.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2008

According to an account of the questions asked of Mr. Short by the School Board’s attorney the MountVernonNews.com detailed the following. Superintendent Short was asked, “Is the Bible (on the desk) the reason (that he recommended firing Freshwater)?” he asked.

““No,” replied Short.

“He said it had to do with four main reasons: The Tesla coil mark on students’ arms; Freshwater teaching beyond the approved curriculum and bringing religion into the classroom; Freshwater overstepping his bounds as FCA monitor; and Freshwater’s refusal to remove items from his classroom when directed to do so.”

Columbus’ NBC-4 reported on its website, “Hearing referee Lee Shepherd said he would submit a written report of his findings to the school board after the hearing was complete and that the board would determine whether Freshwater should be fired.

The termination hearing will resume tomorrow, Tuesday, October 28, 2008 at 9:00 AM.

I believe that Mr. Freshwater will be fully exonerated at the conclusion of the hearing. However, the School Board will still fire him, and he will have to pursue further legal action against the School Board. They will hope that he will run out of money and determination to do that. The School Board hopes that he will just go away.

John Freshwater Supporters Rallied Sunday

(Mount Vernon, Ohio) Hundreds of Mount Vernon’s citizens showed up at the Public Square on a chilly, windy, and sunny Sunday afternoon for a prayer rally to support science teacher John Freshwater. The Mount Vernon Square is a large circular park in the heart of the town. Much of the square was filled with supporters, both from Mount Vernon and from other Ohio locations. The rally included singing, speaking and prayer.
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Mr. Freshwater has been a teacher for 21 years in the Mount Vernon City School District. Last year he received an award as Teacher of the Year, but he has been targeted for his Christian faith by the Mt. Vernon City School Board, which is now being advised by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

Mr. Freshwater was informed by the school board that he must remove from his desk his personal Bible that he has had sitting there for 21 years. Mr. Freshwater did comply with a number of other demands by the school board, but said that his own personal Bible is off-limits, and that the school board has no right dictating to him or any other teacher this kind of demand. Freshwater is currently being investigated and monitored while an assessment is being made of his future in the Mount Vernon school system.

Bob Burney, a Columbus area minister and WFRD radio talk show host served as the master of ceremonies. Speakers included Reverend Dan Whisner of the Church at Chapel Hill and Ohio Legislative Watch, Reverend Donald Matolyak, Pastor of Trinity Worship Center (John Freshwater’s church), Ohio State Congressman Thom Collier spoke, and John Freshwater, present and on “stage – a flat bed truck” with his wife and three children. Closing the meeting was Chris Long, Executive Director of the Ohio Christian Alliance, based in Akron, Ohio.

Steve Townsend, a local citizen and father, whose three children have been or are being taught by John Freshwater, spoke for a few minutes. His youngest daughter is in his class this year and has been inspired by how he encourages kids to be their best. His son is now a teacher in middle school. His son has testified as to Mr. Freshwater’s commitment to the student and a consistent encouragement to his fellow peers. He ended by saying, “I leave you with this, our students are safe with John Freshwater.”

Bob Burney related that despite this adversity, God is using it for His glory. He said that the fact that nearly 2/3 of the student body brought bibles to school a couple of weeks ago in support of Mr. Freshwater. In addition, the fact that hundreds of people showed up in support of Mr. Freshwater filling the Public Square singing "How Great Thou Art" shows that God can use even the worst of situations.

Thom Collier, Ohio State House Representative for the 90th District, which encompasses Mount Vernon shared why he was at the rally. He said that he was at the rally because he shares a view from a unique perspective as a public official, a public figure, a believer in Christ. He wanted to share a little of the big picture. He said, “Because I believe when the smoke clears, the investigations are complete, we will still have one major question that lingers before us in the community and as a society. Can a teacher have a Bible, or a Koran for that matter, on the corner of their desk? And for the record, yes, I have a Bible on the corner of my desk in the (Ohio) State House. ” He raised his Bible in his right hand, like Charlton Heston did his rifle at the NRA convention, and said, “Out of my cold dead hands.”

Freshwater spoke of his mission trip to China, to the area of China that was recently hit by that devastating earthquake. His youngest daughter, Jordan, was only two years old at the time. Mr. Freshwater recalled how sitting on his shoulders Jordan sang the B.I.B.L.E. song for the Chinese church audiences, who requested the song at church meetings. The crowd joined Jordan in singing the children's favorite:

The B-I-B-L-E
Yes, that's the book for me
I stand alone on the Word of God
The B-I-B-L-E

Closing the meeting was Chris Long, Executive Director of the Ohio Christian Alliance, based in Akron, Ohio. His organization also supports the stand Freshwater has taken.

The Burning Issue in Mount Vernon, Ohio

“Asking any citizen to remove from view any symbol or any book that has deep significance to his or her life borders on tyranny.”--- John Freshwater, April 2008

The whole John Freshwater controversy started with the demand made by his principal to remove his personal bible from his desk. That is the principle reason for the firing. The rest of the accusation were just drummed up to deflect from the real reason for wanting to get rid of Mr. Freshwater.

Let’s look at what is being portrayed all over the media as the main reason for the firing of John Freshwater, burning crosses on the arms of one or two students in Mr. Freshwater’s science class. Could those revealing photographs of the crosses burned into the arms the students, which were supposedly caused by their science teacher John Freshwater, be a fabrication? That possibility was never raised by the 15-page HR On-Call, Inc. report. HR On-Call was the investigating organization hired by the Mount Vernon School Board to review all the evidence and circumstances surrounding John Freshwater. Likewise, that question ever never raised by the disgraceful Columbus Dispatch newspaper. John Freshwater was accused, tried, convicted and sentenced in the press. His side of the story was not presented fairly, if at all.

On his 10:00 PM (Saturday, June 21, 2008) Fox News Channel’s Geraldo-at-large TV Show, Geraldo Rivera interviewed a friend of John Freshwater, Dave Daubenmire, who tried to defend Mr. Freshwater. The obnoxious Rivera went into the interview with the same preconceived notion of guilt as did the Columbus Dispatch earlier. Geraldo attacked Mr. Daubenmire, who could barely get a word in edgewise.

See the video for yourself.

The worst “offense” from the list that Rivera recited was Freshwater’s alleged burning of crosses on the arms of several students. Other secondary offenses noted by Rivera were: teaching intelligent design and teaching against evolution, brandishing of Bibles in the classroom and stating that homosexuality was sin.

The school board, its investigators, and the media, as I stated in previous articles posted on this blog, dug up things that had been settled in the past (teaching against evolution). Freshwater served as the monitor or facilitator the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA), which met after school in his classroom. He had those extra Bibles in the classroom for that purpose. Apparently the statement about homosexuality came up in a discussion in class. Is not any American able to express his opinion? Does it not matter that speaking the truth is no longer something that is tolerated?

There is a pending civil rights lawsuit filed by one of the parents of one of the supposedly “abused” child. Hopefully the evidence of the photographs will be reviewed and determined to be admissible or not. That question is not settled as the school board, the Dispatch and Geraldo Rivera apparently contend.

This ‘burning at the stake” of Mr. Freshwater goes far beyond him. It is part of a jihad by those who hate God and Christianity and all it stands for. They want to see God, faith and morality completely purged from our schools, our culture and society. Only then can man be free to do as they please without constraints . . .

More Freshwater News

See my first article, The PC Police Go Freshwater Fishing.

The saga continues . . .

MOUNT VERNON, OHIO

For the past few days I have been following the John Freshwater story of possible religious discrimination and intolerance on the part of Mount Vernon (Ohio) Schools Administration and their Board of Education toward the middle school teacher and Christian. Below is the latest from MountVernonNews.com regarding John Freshwater, a middle school teacher supposedly in hot water for refusing to remove his personal Bible from the top of his classroom desk defying the order of the school principal.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008 – Investigation to begin into allegations against teacher – MountVernonNews.com reported that, “Mount Vernon City Schools Board of Education and administration decided to have an independent party investigate allegations made against eighth grade science teacher John Freshwater. . .

The newspaper’s website stated, “In a press release issued Tuesday afternoon, Superintendent Steve Short said, “The allegations against Mr. Freshwater are very serious. This is not about his personal Bible on his desktop. It is about the totality of his conduct.”

The article goes on to talk about a science class project which allegedly used an electrostatic process to “burn” crosses onto the arms of students. This incident happened in December of 2007, four month ago, no action had been taken regarding that incident up to this point. Another allegation was that Mr. Freshwater had the gall to explain the meaning of Good Friday and Easter. We would not want our student to have any real knowledge now would we? It is okay to talk about Kwanza and Ramadan but how dare you acknowledge the existence and reason for man’s only means of redemption!

MountVernonNew.com also reported, “While the independent investigation is being conducted, an administrator will be in the classroom with Freshwater, monitoring his activities to ensure board policy is followed and student’s rights are protected.” What about Mr. Freshwater’s rights? Must he abrogate those rights when he walks into the school? That is foolish and contrary to the original intent of our Founding Fathers. Does it not matter what they established? It worked for 200 some years.

I can’t help but think that America’s Founders if they returned to Mount Vernon in Ohio today would take up arms and declare a second revolutionary war on the government bureaucracy that has been overrun by elitists and socialists who have accomplished a bloodless coup and established a new tyranny far worse that that of the King of England in 1776! Where are the Patrick Henrys and Noah Websters and George Washingtons of our day? I find it somewhat ironic that this incident of suppressing religious freedom was occurring in a city whose namesake is George Washington’s famous home.

The MountVernonNews.com article concludes, “According to Freshwater’s personnel file, he had been cautioned on several occasions about adhering to the school district’s policy regarding religion in the classroom. Employee evaluation also state Freshwater has good rapport with students, good teaching skills and extensive knowledge of his subject matter.” The article fails to mention, however, that Mr. Freshwater was the Teacher of the Year in 2007 and one additional time in past years. Pretty seedy character if you ask me.

COLUMBUS, OHIO – THE WRONG SIDE

The following is an excerpt from today’s disgraceful Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch’s top editorial published today.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008 - The last straw – Mount Vernon’s teacher/s Bible was one in a long list of religious intrusions.

“ . . . (Freshwater) amplified his protest by calling in Dave Daubenmire, a former London High School football coach who, after resigning in 2000 amid controversy over his insistence on leading the team in pregame prayer, became well-known as a combative advocate for religion in public life. Daubenmire’s Pass the Salt Ministries and Minutemen United have turned up at scenes of religious controversy around the country, occluding Alabama (Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court) Judge Roy Moore’s unsuccessful fight to display a Ten Commandments monument at the state’s supreme court and the fight in Florida over ending the life of comatose Terri Schiavo.

“Daubenmire considers the concept of separation of Church and state - a core constitutional guarantee of religions freedom in the United States – invalid. Freshwater’s association with him is a strong indication that the teacher is as interested in picking a fight over religion as in teaching students about science . . .

“This is more than a Bible on the desk and calls into question Freshwater’s commitment to teaching science. Mount Vernon school officials are right to insist that he conduct himself as a science teacher, not as a religious provocateur.”

Would the dispatch use the same logic in the associations of one of their own liberal idols, Senator Barack Hussein Obama, and his association with racists and anti-semites Jeremiah Wright and Al Sharpton or domestic terrorist William Ayers or white color criminal Antoin "Tony" Rezko? I don’t think so.

The Dispatch is right, it is “This is more than a Bible on the desk,” it is about jumping on the side of the ACLU to suppress all godly influence in society. The media, including the liberal Columbus Dispatch is one the of those who want to remove all vestiges of God, morality, virtue and all decency from our society at the expense of society. Why? Perhaps the left wants to usher in a global socialism, fawned over by leftists worldwide. Even if is at the expense of American sovereignty and freedom.

COLUMBUS, OHIO – THE OTHER SIDE

Below is an email I received from Coach Dave Daubenmire, the “combative advocate for religion in public life.” Boy, that description by the editors of the Columbus Dispatch, really sounds sinister doesn’t it? Does someone who dares to work to preserve the values and principles of Christianity in this once Christian nation deserve to be ostracized, vilified and marginalized? That is what the liberal press seems to be doing to Coach Dave.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008 –- Coach Dave Daubenmire Calls for End to Inquisition of Teacher John Freshwater

“. . . Superintendent Stephen Short emphasized in a news release yesterday that the allegations involving Freshwater extend beyond that Bible.

"This is not about his personal Bible on his desktop," the release states. "It is alleged he used his classroom to advance religion … We have an obligation to protect our students' rights." Coach Dave Daubenmire disagrees with Short. Here is the Coach's statement:

“Mt. Vernon City Schools have chosen character assassination as their weapon of choice in the battle to force John Freshwater to remove a Bible from his desk. With complete disregard for his family or his reputation the attorneys for the school board leaked information to the press regarding a science experiment that Mr. Freshwater conducted in his classroom.

“To accuse Mr. Freshwater of "burning crosses" on the arms of students in attempt to make him appear to be a religious fanatic is a desperate and despicable act. They know John Freshwater and his character and they know that the incident in his science classroom had nothing to do with Christianity. Those responsible should be ashamed. Freshwater has never once violated the freedom of conscience of any of his students. As someone who has endured the wrath of this kind of inquisition, I'm proud to stand with John and his family as they endure this Christian flogging. We will not allow freedom to be expelled from Ohio's public school classrooms."”

WHAT NOW?

I don’t think that we are getting the total story from the main stream media. Hopefully the truth will emerge and we will find Mr. Freshwater guilty only of being an excellent teacher and a God-honoring man. If that warrants termination, God help us all.

Freshwater to be fired

Righting 1st Amendment Wrongs

Of Floodwater and Freshwater

With the floods raging out in Iowa and surrounding states, there are Freshwater troubles in Ohio, too. The Freshwater problem in Ohio is a person, John Freshwater. I have posted several articles about this case. Briefly, he is a middle school science teacher who dared to say no to his principal when he was told to remove his Bible from the top of his desk. Subsequently to Mr. Freshwater's refusal to remove his
Bible, a number of other issues surfaced including his posting tof he Ten Commandments in a collage that Mr. Freshwater had displayed in his classroom. The school board placed a monitor in his classroom in April, they hired an investigator and will be meeting tomorrow (Friday) to review the investigator's (HR On Call, Inc.) report and decide what disciplinary action, if any, they will take against Mr. Freshwater.
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I am deeply saddened and troubled, though not surprised, by the action that the Mount Vernon school board will take with respect to John Freshwater. I believe that the Mount Vernon school board will decide to terminate middle school science 21 year veteran teacher John Freshwater at tomorrow’s (Friday’s) school board meeting. I stand stunned, shocked and ashamed of how far my country has plummeted from the lofty values and principles of the nation built by our founding fathers.

Today our failed education system is held in a full-Nelson stranglehold by the liberal elite who mismanage the state and federal bureaucratic mazes called departments of (anything but) education. They have been very successful in transforming our schools into indoctrination centers for secular humanistic thought and doctrine and preparing our children for being good little automatons or puppets of the state. Freshwater is not with the program, so he must go.

See two online articles in today's Columbus Dispatch, "Teacher sued over religious 'branding.'" and "Report: Science teacher mixed religion, class."

REASONS FOR THE TERMINATION

Why do I believe that Freshwater will be evaporated? First, the school board will cave to the pressure brought on by the lawsuit by parents of a middle school student, which was filed Friday the 13th. The school board will want to get rid of the problem (Freshwater) and will try to settle their portion of the lawsuit out of court. Second, the findings of the investigator’s, who were hired by the Mount Vernon school board, report clearly show that the investigators found evidence to support most of the allegations against John Freshwater. Besides, the findings of the investigators were suspiciously or conveniently obtained by the Columbus Dispatch. The Dispatch posted the 15-page report online this evening.

I read the entire report and here is what I gleaned from what the investigators concluded:

 Mr. Freshwater taught religious beliefs in his classes. This was evidenced, for example, by his questioning the veracity of the theory of evolution, teaching some shortcomings, teaching creationism and intelligent design.

 Mr. Freshwater opined to his class that homosexuality was wrongful behavior according to the Judeo-Christian Bible. Any homosexual is such by choice. Homosexual behavior is sinful.

 Mr. Freshwater misused an electrostatic device by not following manufacturer’s instructions. Crosses were “burned” onto the skins of some of the students, though the marks disappeared within 3-4 weeks and no permanent damage was done. No evidence, however, was found to support any intent to harm the children.

 Mr. Freshwater went beyond merely monitoring an after school extracurricular activity, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) group by actively participating in the meetings.

 Mr. Freshwater was insubordinate when he refused to remove all “religious materials” from his classroom as ordered by his principal. These “banned” materials included his personal bible, other bibles, a poster of Colin Powell with a scriptural verse about leadership.

CONCLUSION

The only thing Mr. Freshwater is really guilty of is speaking the truth. In 2008 America I guess that is now wrong. How dare he buck the secular humanistic crowd, creed and system! Doesn’t he know that the secular humanist religion-in-disguise has replaced Christianity, Jesus Christ and God in the taxpayer funded government schools? There is not room enough for both worldviews. All matter of thought and ideas no matter how foreign or vile are tolerated, yet do not poison the minds of America’s children by mentioning or acknowledging God. How dreadfully far removed from the original framers of America and its Constitution!

ACTION NEEDED

Mr. Freshwater should file a civil rights lawsuit against the Mount Vernon school board, the Ohio Department of Education and the federal Department of Education for wrongful termination due to institutionalized discrimination against himself and all Christians. The foolish, nonexistent (at least in the U.S. Constitution), and wrong so-called "separation of church and state" notion must be abolished once and for all.

Update: John Freshwater Garners Some National Attention

Righting 1st Amendment Wrongs

Thanks to a tip from an anonymous commenter (see comment below), I found out from a Mount Vernon News article today that the hearing scheduled for August 26 has been again rescheduled until October 1st. The paper reports, "The change was made due to a docket conflict with hearing referee R.B. Shepherd, Esquire. Shepherd, a Shelby, Ohio attorney will apparently be the judge and jury in this matter. This formal hearing will determine whether John Freshwater's teaching contract will be renewed or will be officially terminated.

The hearing will provide an opportunity for Mr. Freshwater to present his side of the case. He spoke on his own behalf at the August 4th regular board meeting along with over two dozen other persons who commented to the board at the start of the monthly board meeting. Below is a link to YouTube videos that covered that board meeting. It appears that the School Board and Superintendent wish to get rid of this very valuable asset to the school district and community for political and ideological reasons.

ON THE NATIONAL STAGE

Mr. Freshwater has recently received national exposure. Below is a August 14, 2008 commentary by Kerby Anderson of the Point of View Radio Show, who is also the President of Probe Ministries. This commentary gives a good summary of the situation.

Christian Teacher Suspended
by Kerby Anderson
August 14, 2008

For the last few weeks, I have been hearing about a teacher who was suspended without pay because he refused to remove his Bible from his desk. The story sounded too incredible, so I had to check it out for myself.

“John Freshwater is a science teacher in Ohio who received a Teacher of the Year award last year (2007). He had his Living Bible on his desk for 21 years, but it was not in a prominent place. He told me that when he asked former students if they remember him having a Bible on his desk, many of them didn't remember that he did.

“ John Freshwater is an excellent teacher. In fact, his science class was the only eighth grade class at the school to pass the Ohio Achievement Test. He has been accused of branding a student during a voluntary Tesla coil demonstration, but there doesn't seem to be much merit in this accusation.

“When I interviewed him, he did mention that back in 2002-2003, he decided to follow some of the details in the "No Child Left Behind" legislation that allowed teachers to teach the controversy concerning evolution. He wonders if his willingness to talk about the problems with evolution is part of the reason for the actions against him.

“John Freshwater pointed out that other teachers have religious items on their desk. And he was willing to remove a Ten Commandments poster from his classroom, along with a box of Bibles that were stored in his office for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

“ So, is he just a troublemaker? I don't think so. I also interviewed his pastor who was most supportive of him, his character, and his teaching. As far as I can tell, he is the kind of teacher we would want instructing our children. He doesn't deserve to be suspended, and he certainly doesn't deserve to be fired. The school board has passed a resolution to terminate his contract pending an August 26 hearing.

“ Let us hope and pray that he is reinstated and not fired. I'm Kerby Anderson, and that's my point of view."

The Freshwater story had more national exposure in newspapers such as the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times, which ran an AP new story.

ON THE LOCAL STAGE

Dave Daubenmire on his Pass the Salt website had the following update and description of the YouTube video embedded below.

“At the August 4th Mt. Vernon School Board meeting fellow Science teacher Lori Miller informed the board that she, too, regularly performed the same experiment with her class involving a Tesla Coil, had a Bible on her desk, and Christian symbols in her room and she had never once been asked by any superior to cease and desist. In addition, Mrs. Miller said that even though she was on the "witness" list of the "investigation" conducted by an "independent" investigator, had worked along John Freshwater for years, no one ever interviewed her to find out if she might have evidence pertinent to the case.”

To listen to the 3 minute presentations of various people who spoke during the public session of the August 4th School Board meeting please click here

Freshwater’s Fellow Science Teacher Speaks Up For Him



TAKE ACTION

To keep up with the John Freshwater story see any of the following:

A Good Choice . . . articles

SupportFreshwater.com

BibleOnTheDesk.com

You can also help Mr. Freshwater with his legal costs by sending a check to:

The Community Council for Free Expression

c/o Trinity Assembly of God

1051 Beech Street

Mount Vernon, Ohio 43050

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John Freshwater Termination Hearing Day 18

Righting First Amendment Wrongs
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“Healing session discussed at Freshwater hearing,” was the headline that spread across the front page of the April 3rd edition of the Mount Vernon News newspaper, published Friday afternoon. The article covered the events of John Freshwater’s contract termination hearing that took place on Thursday. I made a special trip to pick up Friday’s edition of the newspaper.

Except for this local newspaper article, I could not find very much coverage of the day’s events in this long, drawn out ‘trial.’ I could not find any account in the Columbus Dispatch, which had been covering much of the hearing.

This article is based almost exclusively on the Mount Vernon News account. According to reporter Pamela Schehl there were three witnesses on Thursday. The first was a pastor who, the second is a middle school health teacher, and the third an 8th grade social studies teacher.

STEPHEN ZIRKLE

Pastor Zirkle participated in several Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) meetings. There was an allegation that Freshwater overstepped his bounds as a monitor of this extracurricular activity. Zirkle is also subject of an alleged “healing session” was held following the March 18, 2008 FCA meeting at the Mount Vernon Middle School, which was one of the allegations against Mr. Freshwater. Zirkle did not recall John Freshwater’s having any leadership role in that meeting or whether he had prayed along with the students. However, upon cross-examination by the school board’s attorney, David Millstone, he did concede that it was possible that Freshwater initiated the prayer for Pastor Zirkle.

My comment would be that even if Freshwater did suggest that a prayer be made on behalf of Pastor Zirkle, or even if he did pray for him, should he not have a right to exercise his religious liberty? Are teachers expected to check their 'religious' convictions or beliefs at the school house door and assume a completely godless, heretical secular humanistic core of beliefs? I don’t think so.

WESLEY ELIFRZ

Elifriz was a middle school health teacher who observed that Freshwater had a Bible on his desk. Elifriz admitted that he also had ‘religious articles’ in his room, up until very recently, that is.

The Mt. Vernon News article records this comment made by Elifriz, “he observed students calling “I love science” when they passed Freshwater’s room, and got the impression they both liked and respected him (Freshwater).”

It certainly seemed that Freshwater enjoyed teaching and his students enjoyed him and the subject he taught. It seems like the students were learning. Because Freshwater did not conform to the secular humanistic worldview of life as is apparently expected of state or government employees, does this make him the “enemy”? That certainly appears to me to be the case.

ANDREW THOMPSON

Thompson, according the Mount Vernon News article, was an eighth-grade social studies teacher at the middle school. Thompson had previously served as an intervention specialist. In the role of an intervention specialist he had several opportunities to accompany students to Freshwater’s science class. He is also a former student of Freshwater’s and regularly attended FCA meetings while a student and then as a teacher.

Thompson described Freshwater as a “dynamic teacher who is passionate about what he does.” The Mount Vernon News article report, “Thompson said he never heard Freshwater speak about religion in class and never heard him discuss intelligent design or creationism in class. He said Freshwater’s teaching methods got students engaged and excited about science.”

Furthermore the newspaper noted, “Thompson also compared the scores of Freshwater’s science students with other science students’ test results. Freshwater’s students scored higher, he said, and that data does not support the allegations that Freshwater’s students needed to be retaught in high school.”

Thompson testified that he questioned the HR On-Call Report and even went to the School Board with his concerns that the report was “inaccurate, incomplete and one-sided.”

Rom what I have observed, read and heard one of the two investigators testify, the HR On-Call report does seem to have been subjective, biased, and meant to provide the fodder for and to facilitate the firing of Mr. Freshwater.

THE HEARING CONTINUES . . .

The hearing was to have been held yesterday (Friday), however it had been cancelled on Thursday evening. Thursday, May 7th is the tentative date for the continuance of the hearing.