AP, to its credit, doesn’t bury the lead the way the Dispatch does:

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – 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.

And reporter Doug Whiteman should get some kind of award for straight-facing this quote:

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.

Yeah, with the exception of the cross-burning episode … . And other than that, how did you like the play, Mrs. Lincoln?

Here’s the cross burned into the kid’s arm:

And, apparently, there’s more than one:

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.