Amish in the News

EDEN TOWNSHIP, PA - State police say a man pretending to be a police officer briefly detained an Amish buggy in Eden Township on March 4. The buggy driver told police a car pulled behind him and flashed red and blue lights. When the buggy stopped, the car’s driver asked if the Amish man had alcohol or drugs before driving away. The unidentified man appeared to be in his 20s, and wore a white T-shirt and sunglasses. His vehicle was a white and black decommissioned police vehicle, possibly a Dodge Charger.

DOVER, DE - A Hartly man received two years in prison Thursday morning involving a fatal hit and run crash with an Amish buggy in western Kent County last year. Robert H. Eckeard, 29 years old when arrested on Sept. 6, 2017, will serve a year of Level II probation upon release. He was convicted of leaving the scene of a collision resulting in death. Other charges were not further prosecuted after the guilty plea was accepted by Superior Court Judge William L. Witham Jr. The Delaware State Police determined Eckeard fled from the scene after his vehicle struck a horse-drawn carriage on Halltown Road (Del. 8) near the intersection of Hartly Road (Del. 44) on Aug. 31, 2017. Police said the buggy was attempting to make a left turn when struck.

Many people think of the Amish as living without. These devout communities, predominantly located in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana, go without cars, TVs, computers, phones or even the electricity needed to run so much of 21st century gadgetry. But what researchers who have studied them have found is what the Amish have a surplus of: good health in late life. The average American life expectancy is currently just under 79 years. Back in 1900, it was only 47, but for early–20th century Amish it was already greater than 70. Over the decades, most Americans have caught up in overall life expectancy, but the Amish still have a significant edge in late-life health, with lower rates of cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and more. So how do they do it?

TEXAS - It may not be in the headlines much any more, but months after Hurricane Harvey made landfall in August 2017, the area is still recovering, and Mennonites and Amish from all over the United States are quietly contributing to those recovery efforts. Small towns, in particular, have suffered in the aftermath of Harvey's destruction without much help from the outside world. "It didn't take long for us to realize this was where we were supposed to be for now," Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) Executive Director Kevin King said in a statement in September. "And we are there for a lot of reasons. There is tremendous need. These are towns that are often last on the list. They become first on our list."

JACKSON TOWNSHIP, OH - An Amish man hauling lumber on a horse-drawn trailer was killed Thursday, reports say. The accident occurred Thursday afternoon on Ohio 89 in Ashland County, the Mansfield News Journal reports. Meno L. Yoder, 51, of Polk, was hauling a stack of flat lumber on the trailer when it went off the right side of the road.

VAN BUREN COUNTY, MI - When it comes to horsepower, the Amish have a lot of it. Police are warning motorists, though, that they need the roads just as much as drivers do. "A lot of these Amish people are moving into the township and the community we need to raise awareness early on before there is a problem,” said Chief Derek Babcock with the Bangor Fire Department. Babcock and Van Buren County Sheriff Daniel Abbott are teaming up. They said Amish buggy's have the same rights to the road as farm equipment and motorcycles.

SUGAR GROVE TOWNSHIP, PA - An eight-year conflict has left a Pennsylvania family struggling to practice their faith against a sewage ordinance in Sugar Grove Township, Pennsylvania. Joseph and Barbara Yoder, an Old Order Amish family, have been ordered by local courts to install an electric pump in their outhouse, an action that directly contradicts their religious beliefs. Court documents from the original 2016 suit indicate that the Yoder family had previously been exempted in 2008 from the city’s demand that they connect their outhouse to the local power grid if the family paid both the connection fees and sewer charges along with monthly charges. Although the family kept up with these demands, in December 2010 the sewage authority filed a municipal claim against the Yoder’s, allegedly for “nonpayment of sewer charges.”

MADISON, WI - A new law authored by a pair of local lawmakers to ensure more safety on our roadways was passed by the State Assembly on Tuesday.       State Senator Jerry Petrowski (R-Marathon), and Representative John Spiros (R-Marshfield) worked together on the bill, and Spiros says AB 475 requires all animal-drawn vehicles, such as those used by the Amish and Mennonite communities, to have two amber blinking or strobe lights mounted on the rear of the vehicle.   

PENN YAN, N.Y. (AP) — Rising populations of Amish and Mennonite communities in more rural parts of New York state over the past decade have meant an increase in horse-drawn buggies on the roads, and increasing concerns from law enforcement over collisions between the buggies and motorized vehicles. The New York Times reported that while there's no separate tracking of buggy accidents as a distinct traffic category, officials say it's a familiar problem, ranging from accidents where people are hurt to more serious collisions resulting in deaths of the buggy riders and the horses. Nationwide, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recorded 101 fatalities from buggy accidents between 2011 and 2016.

CLEVELAND, OH - Amish bishop Sam Mullet is asking the Cleveland federal judge who sent him to prison to overturn his convictions for orchestrating a series of beard and hair-cutting attacks on his enemies. Mullet argues in a motion filed Friday that his former attorney, Assistant Federal Public Defender Ed Bryan, made a series of errors while representing him at his 2012 trial, and through two appeals. Had Bryan not committed the errors, Mullet's trial may have ended differently, the motion says.

I had covered many things in my 20-plus years as a reporter — but never a deadly buggy accident. Recently, though, a news brief from upstate New York caught my eye. A young Amish man driving a buggy died after colliding with a car, according to the article, which called the accident the second local buggy collision in an hour’s time. I called some government officials upstate and learned that, although statistics are scant, so-called buggy-to-bumperaccidents happen a lot. The New York State Police connected me with a sergeant devoted to dealing with Amish buggy concerns, Sgt. Bernard Kennett.

PENNSYLVANIA - The case Yoder v. Sugar Grove Area Sewer Authority was heard in a Pennsylvania state appellate court, concluding a five-year legal battle when a 2-1 court decision ruled the Old Order Amish couple has to connect to a sewer system using electric equipment. The family can appeal to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court but that does not guarantee its appeal will move forward. "Americans should be free to follow their religious beliefs and this should be no less true for those like the Amish with unusual beliefs," responds Chief Counsel Randall Wenger of the Pennsylvania-based Independence Law Center.

SUGAR GROVE, PA - The Commonwealth Court has ruled that connecting an Amish couple’s property to a municipal sewer system using an electric pump does not violate the couple’s religious freedom. A split three-judge Commonwealth Court panel consisting of Judge Robert Simpson and Senior Judge Dan Pellegrini affirmed a Warren County trial court’s denial of the injunction requested by Joseph and Barbara Yoder. The Yoders asked the court to rule that they need not be required to connect to the sewer authority system through electric means. Judge Patricia A. McCullough filed a dissent.

WARREN COUNTY, PA - After a legal battle spanning more than five years, a Pennsylvania court has agreed with a lower court ruling that ordered a Warren County Amish family to connect to a municipal sewer, even though doing so requires the use of an electric pump. In an opinion issued Jan. 5, a divided Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court said the Yoder family, who are Old Order Amish and avoid use of electricity for religious reasons, should complete the mandatory connection "without further delay."

Alymer, Ontario - A hydraulic-powered printing press in rural Malahide Township, near Aylmer, just entered its 50th year of operation printing papers for a local Amish community. It may not be long before the old machine is retired. Housed by Paul Jantzi, the old press — made by Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG — is part of a now-archaic printing production involving an industrial-sized paper cutter, folding machine, and assembly line. The assembly line is used roughly once a month to compile a 20-page magazine, published through Pathway Publishers.

WISCONSIN RAPIDS, WI - Horse-drawn vehicles would need windshields, seat belts, child car seats and rear-view mirrors if the Wood County Board passes an ordinance it will consider Tuesday. Amish and other religious groups that rely on animal-pulled buggies also would need to get driver's licenses and vehicle insurance under the measure. It's an ordinance that an expert in Amish culture says is "completely impractical" and will drive those families out of the county.

STANTON, MI - A strong turnout of support at Saturday's benefit for a West Michigan family who lost three of their seven children in a buggy crash last month. A total of $50,000  was raised to help the family with medical expenses. Police say their parents, Judith and Paul, and four siblings were injured in the crash back in October. We have learned that Paul's condition has improved and he is now home from the hospital.

WOOSTER, OH - A 3-year-old Amish girl ran onto a country road to greet her father standing on the other side and was fatally struck by an SUV in northeast Ohio. The state Highway Patrol has identified the girl as Dora Miller. The patrol says she was struck around 5:30 p.m. Tuesday by an SUV that investigators estimate was traveling at 55 mph, the posted speed on the road in East Union Township in Wayne County.

HIGHLAND, OH - A Highland County Children’s Services case involving a local Amish family was dismissed on Friday after the judge determined there was insufficient evidence presented at trial to indicate a 2-year-old child had been sexually assaulted. Highland County Juvenile Court Judge Kevin Greer said that while there was undoubtedly enough reasonable suspicion for authorities to file the case, testimony and evidence presented during the trial couldn’t prove sexual activity had occurred.

HENDERSON, TWP, PA - A Huntingdon woman is facing homicide by motor vehicle charges for a fatal crash that occurred along William Penn Highway in Henderson Township.  19 year-old Madison Thompson is accused of rear ending a horse drawn buggy, claiming the life of Reuben Yoder of Allensville and injuring two others on August 19th.  Police say Thompson after the first crash, Thompson crossed the center line, hitting another car before crashing into a Kwik Fill gas station.

On any Amish homestead, after labor’s last push and a check for 10 fingers and 10 toes, family members have heard one of two things for centuries. “Sis en Bu” or “Sis en Maedel.” “It’s a boy” or “It’s a girl.” That language is Pennsylvania Dutch, and the gender announcement isn’t some old-fashioned tradition the Amish use only during childbirth. They “talk Dutch” about horse manure and carrots, about the weather, and whether a buggy’s wheel needs mending before a trip to the market.

OHIO - As Ohio locals the township continues to rebound from a category-2 tornado that thrashed several properties the night of Nov. 5, many residents are getting a helping hand from neighbors they’ve never met. “We’ve got Amish coming in from all over the state that are helping on everybody’s property,” local township trustee Gary Babb said Wednesday. “Several buildings and Amish barns are already back up and they’ve got so much help they’re helping their neighbors that are not Amish.

A genetic mutation in an Amish community in Indiana that can cause fatal blood clotting has been linked to longevity and protection against diabetes, according to a study published in Science Advances this week (November 15). Previous research has shown that the gene in question, SERPINE1, produces a protein that can promote aging in mice. Levels of the protein, called plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1 (PAI-1), are higher in patients with diabetes, obesity, or cardiovascular disease. PAI-1 is also known to play an important role in blood clotting, and people with two defect copies of SERPINE1 suffer from blood clotting disorders, Science reported.

GALATIA, IL -- A family living near in the Harco area says a neighbor shot their dog from a moving horse-drawn buggy in front of their home. Saturday, some members of the Walker family living on Brown Road heard the sound of a buggy going past their house. It's not an unusual sound, according to Hillary Walker, because several of their neighbors are Amish. 

Diane Bell is still sworn to secrecy so far as the details of her quest for blood relatives is concerned — but she finally knows when her story will air. Bell’s episode on TLC’s “Long Lost Family” will air at 8 p.m. Dec. 11, she revealed Thursday. The reality series seeks to reunite relatives who, for whatever reason, have been parted.

SHERIDAN, MI - Funeral services are Friday for three Amish children killed last Sunday when their family’s horse-drawn buggy was hit from behind by a pickup truck. Cameron Martin, 11, Kayla Martin, 9, and Kendra Martin, 7, were heading to worship services when the accident occurred near Sheridan in Montcalm County.  Lux and Schnepp Funeral Home in Carson City said services are 9:30 a.m. Friday at the Vickeryville Old Order Mennonite Church on the corner of Sloan Road and M-57. Visitation is 1 to 5 p.m. today at Leonard Schrock’s home, 7042 Vickeryville Rd., Sheridan.

WOOSTER, OH - The annual Buckeye Book Fair is one of the biggest book events in Ohio with 100 Ohio authors, illustrators and photographers to sign copies of their new books for readers of all ages.  The 30th anniversary Buckeye Book Fair will be held on Saturday, Nov. 4 from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Fisher Auditorium (1680 Madison Ave) in Wooster. 

NEW WILMINGTON, PA - A New Wilmington Amish teen is facing charges for allegedly driving his horse-drawn buggy while under the influence of alcohol. New Wilmington Borough police arrested John J. Byler, 19, of 220 Pine Lane, on Oct. 1 after he allegedly failed two field sobriety tests. An officer pulled over the buggy around 7:30 p.m. Oct. 1 because the buggy did not have on its flashing lights in the dark, according to a criminal complaint. The officer, who was stopped on stationary patrol on Route 208 at Park Avenue, flashed the headlights of his cruiser four times at the buggy to inform the driver that his lights were not on.

DAUPHIN COUNTY, PA - An Amish man said nothing Thursday before a Dauphin County judge sentenced him to 1 to 2 years in state prison for molesting two girls six years ago. Daniel Ray Fisher's family and the members of his Old Order church weren't silent, however. They told Judge Deborah E. Curcillo they forgave the Mifflin Township man years ago, after Fisher confessed his "sins" to Amish bishops in northern Dauphin County.

Whitefield, ME - The hot topic at the Tuesday, Oct. 10 meeting of the Whitefield Board of Selectmen was the Wednesday, Oct. 4 rear-ending of a horse-and-buggy on East River Road by a Whitefield resident driving an SUV. (See “SUV strikes horse-and-buggy in Whitefield, no injuries”.) Several members of the public joined the ongoing meeting at the Whitefield fire station shortly before 6:30 p.m., the time stated on the meeting’s agenda for discussion of the crash. Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Rand Maker, who had been invited to attend the meeting by Aaron Miller, administrative assistant to the Whitefield Board of Selectmen, arrived at about the same time.