Amish in the News

Frankfort, KY - About 50 members of the Amish faith — men, women and children — from Bath County descended on the Kentucky Capitol on Tuesday, seeking help for a friend convicted of violating federal laws. Samuel A. Girod, a member of the Old Order Amish faith, is scheduled to be sentenced June 30 in Lexington for selling improperly labeled health products and 12 other charges, including threatening a person in an attempt to stop him from providing information to a grand jury. The most serious charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years.

Washington, IN — Gravel roads in a rural southwestern Indiana county recently paved with asphalt to boost economic development are being damaged by horse teams used by the region's large Amish population, according to frustrated county officials. Daviess County has more gravel roads than any other Indiana county, with nearly 600 miles of such roads, the Washington Times-Herald reported. County officials have been using grant money to pave some of those roads with asphalt, but the newly paved roads quickly suffer damage from the impact of steel horseshoes worn by horses pulling Amish buggies.

Kinzers, PA - One man was injured after his horse-and-buggy was rear-ended by a box truck in Paradise Township midday Friday, an official said. The crash happened just before noon on Lincoln Highway East, according to Lancaster County-wide Communications.

PITTSBURGH, PA — A Pennsylvania man already convicted in state court for stalking Amish children near their school has been sentenced to more than 11 years in federal prison for collecting hundreds of child pornography videos and images online. U.S. District Judge Mark Hornak imposed the 11-year, three-month sentence against Lucas Klobetanz because of the "library nature" of the collection, which included categories of various types of images, notably "Boy Scouts," described by prosecutors.

NEILLSVILLE, WI - A driver who crashed his pick-up truck in Clark County may have been harassing Amish buggies in the area before a fatal crash. 35-year-old Steven Faber is charged with homicide drunken driving and reckless endangerment. A witness told police that Faber nearly hit a horse-drawn buggy on County Road W in Clark County, and then turned his truck around and crossed the center line and sped towards the buggy a second time. He lost control of his vehicle. Faber and a passenger, 35-year-old Andy Mallory, were both ejected during the roll-over that followed. Mallory was killed in the wreck.

Four hundred years ago, the ancestors of the song leaders who recently gathered in an Ephrata-area church likely would have sung the same hymns in the same way. They would have been sung in German, with a cadence slow enough to sound like a dirge. The hymns and the singing style changed as different religious sects were created.

BATH, KENTUCKY - In the words of Ronald Reagan, "Government's first duty is to protect the people, not run their lives." More than 35 years after Reagan first spoke those words, what do they mean for each of us? If you fail to understand and comply with the thousands of federal regulations which have been passed to run our lives you face the risk of huge civil fines, or worse yet, you face the risk of being criminally prosecuted. If you think that it could never happen to you, consider the case of Sam Girod, an Amish farmer from Bath County, Kentucky. For decades, Sam, like many members of the Amish community, has been making and selling salves which contain natural ingredients. Unfortunately for Sam, his products came to the attention of an inspector from the Food and Drug Administration in 2013 because the container for his salve had a claim on the label that the salve cured cancer.

BUCKS, PA - On the second day of Lee Kaplan's sexual-abuse trial, a girl took the stand to describe summers swimming in Kaplan's backyard pool, learning history from documentaries, tending to the chickens, picking fruit from trees - and having sex with the man 37 years her senior beginning when she was 10 or 11. Over two days, a parade of witnesses have described the extraordinary hold Kaplan had over the once-Amish Stoltzfus family, centered on God, education, and marriage to the underage daughters.

BUCKS, PA - On the second day of Lee Kaplan's sexual-abuse trial, a girl took the stand to describe summers swimming in Kaplan's backyard pool, learning history from documentaries, tending to the chickens, picking fruit from trees - and having sex with the man 37 years her senior beginning when she was 10 or 11. Over two days, a parade of witnesses have described the extraordinary hold Kaplan had over the once-Amish Stoltzfus family, centered on God, education, and marriage to the underage daughters.

ASHVILLE, NY - The Chautauqua Children's Safety Education Village, located at 2695 Route 394 in Ashville, will receive an Amish buggy on May 31st. The child-sized buggy is being donated to the Safety Village by the Clymer, Sherman, Ashville and Panama Fire Departments. The buggy will be used as part of the Traffic Safety Classes that take place at the Village. “We need to begin to teach children at a young age that they have to be alert and aware when they are driving and pay attention to the traffic signs, especially those telling us that there may be slow moving vehicles ahead. We have several rural areas throughout Chautauqua and Cattaraugus County that are populated with Amish families and farmers who are going to be in slow moving vehicles. We need to react when we see signs indicating that there may be a horse and buggy or a tractor ahead and immediately lower our rate of speed and proceed with caution."

SEYMOUR, MO - Two babies are hospitalized from a outbreak of whooping cough in the Amish community in Webster County. County health officials now are trying to control the spread of the disease. Six cases are confirmed, while there are many more possible cases in the Amish community along Highway C. “The challenge came because you have to go to them; they don't really have the means to hear or see about it through the news, the media,” said Banks. The Webster County Health Unit used word of mouth and set up an immunization clinic at a country store last week. In two days, they vaccinated more than 300 adults and children.

In the past year, more than 20 Amish families have moved to P.E.I., turning heads with their distinctive clothing and old-style transportation. After exchanging their farms in Ontario for more fertile, and more affordable P.E.I. properties, the Amish newcomers arranged for government exemptions, to create buildings without plumbing, and, get government identification without pictures.  Their real estate agent, Brad Oliver, expects many more are on the way.  Oliver said the newcomers do enjoy some modern perks, like watching hockey on TV.  “If the game’s on, yeah, and they’ll have a beer.” But, mostly, they follow the old ways, like women using manual push-mowers to cut their lawns, or, the family that milks 25 cows a day by hand.

An Amish bishop in Dauphin County has been charged with failing to report two cases of child sexual abuse. An Amish bishop in Dauphin County has been charged with failing to report two cases of child sexual abuse. Christ M. Stoltzfus, 69, of Roller Road in Mifflin Township, told investigators that he was informed that one of the incidents "wasn't really that bad" during an interview in February, according to state police. Both cases involved Daniel Ray Fisher, 44, of Weaver Road in Mifflin Township, records state. Fisher was charged in a separate case in November and again January with inappropriately touching a then 5-year-old girl and a then-10-year-old girl, records state.

WILLSBORO, N.Y. - There are new neighbors for Essex County residents. Community members in the North Country say they're happy to see Amish families moving into town, but there's one problem. It boils down to traffic troubles. People say Amish buggies on country roads, especially at night, are hard to spot. Strict religious requirements prevent Amish people from using most technology. So with cars mostly off-limits, the horse-and-buggy is the next best transportation.

ASHLAND, OH - Cinnamon Lake, a cluster of 500 newer homes about 40 miles west of Akron, promotes itself as being in the heart of Amish country yet within easy reach of 70 mph freeways leading to modernity. On weekday mornings, commuters from that development and surrounding areas in cars, trucks and SUVs hit the blacktop country roads slicing through the corn and soybean fields, sometimes forgetting that their Amish neighbors are on their way to work, too — in horse-drawn buggies traveling about 5 mph. The Swartzentrubers recognize there’s a road safety problem and changes must be made. The first is a simple, white 10-by-12-inch piece of plastic outlined in reflective tape that will be attached to the back of buggies.

SUWANNEE COUNTY, FL - Jeremiah Raber is in trouble. Again. The man appears to be unable to stay out of trouble. The 37-year-old star of TLC's Return to Amish and former star of TLC's & Breaking Amish has been arrested for #Domestic Violence. The latest domestic violence charges were filed against him by his current wife, Carmela Raber. She accused Jeremiah Raber of throwing hot coffee on her lap. The alleged event happened during one of their many arguments.

ST. PAUL, MN – Members of a southeastern Minnesota Amish community claim in court that municipal and state wastewater ordinances forcing them to install treatment systems violate their religious beliefs against modern conveniences. Ammon Swartzentruber, Menno Mast, Amos Mast and Sam Miller – all members of the Swartzentruber Amish community – sued the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and Fillmore County on Friday in Ramsey County District Court. The lawsuit focuses on how Swartzentruber and his members dispose of household water called “greywater,” which is used for indoor household duties like washing dishes, bathing and laundry before it is reused in fields and gardens.

BUCKS, PA - A Bucks County judge has denied defense attorneys' request to move the child sexual assault trial of Lee Kaplan out of the county. Kaplan, 52, of Feasterville is slated to go to trial May 30 on charges that he raped or sexually assaulted six girls, all from a formerly Amish family from Lancaster County. Some of the girls allegedly had been "gifted" to Kaplan by their parents to be his wives.

COLDWATER, MI - This area's state Senator Mike Shirley will not pick up or vote for legislation to require a fee registration for horse-drawn vehicles, namely Amish buggies. Past proposals have died in prior sessions, without committee hearings or votes. In February, Shirkey met with local officials and law enforcement who had pushed in past sessions for authorization to charge a $50 registration fee, requested to help pay for road damages, identifying owners, and for safety concerns.

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DOVER, OH - Marlene C. Miller was able to forgive the father who beat her and the mother who let him after she gave her life over to God. Her conversion occurred after her Amish husband’s brother had spoken to her about eternity. She was washing dishes, she recalled, when her sin began weighing on her. “I asked God, ’Where will I go when I die? I heard the answer in my heart: hell,” she told an audience at Dover Public Library recently.

REBER, NY - Midnight is dark in this remote stretch of fertile landscape, where country lanes creep through fields ringed with misty mountains. Motorists must combat a thicket of possible difficulties that only magnify at the crepuscular hour, including snowdrifts, wild animals, single-lane bridges and hairpin corners along unpaved roads with low visibility. In the small pocket where the Amish have planted roots — at least three settlements in Westport, Essex and Reber — numerous signs warn motorists of variables: deer, snowmobiles, horseback riders, tractors, firetrucks and diesel trucks. But there are no warnings for the buggies, which are jet black and are not outfitted with headlights or the orange triangle displayed on other slow-moving vehicles — only the lanterns.

MONTOUR, PA - A member of the Amish sect allegedly indecently assaulted two girls several times over a more than six-year period. Amos Stoltzfus Lapp, 43, of 170 Hillside Road, faces two counts of aggravated indecent assault of a child, two counts of aggravated indecent assault, three counts of indecent assault, three counts of corruption of minors and six counts of indecent assault. Police allege the assaults occurred between Feb. 1, 2007, through Aug. 21, 2013.

GEAUGA, OH - Chipmunk Lane in Burton Township is normally a quiet street, but that peace was shattered for William Yoder and his family several weeks ago. "We came into the driveway, and I seen the tire tracks and the ruts in my yard," Yoder said. "My wife tells me that both front doors were standing open . So I walked into the master bedroom and saw the nightstand open. I told her to check her purses and both of them were gone," Yoder said. Geauga County Sheriff’s deputies said 39-year-old Lisa Bishop, of Montville Township, is responsible.

MIDDLEFIELD, OH - A group of Amish taxi drivers, who serve the Amish in Middlefield, Ohio claim, in some cases, the Ohio State Highway Patrol is unfairly pulling them over for safety checks if they see Amish passengers in their transport vans. Dale Eloph, who transports Amish passengers 10,000 miles every month, believes multiple drivers have been pulled over without probable cause, simply because Amish passengers can be seen inside the vehicles.

AROOSTOOK, ME - Hoping to avoid seeing a legal confrontation between the Amish and state government, Rep. Dave McCrea, D-Fort Fairfield, wants to let Amish community members hunt wearing red rather than blaze orange in accordance with their religious customs. Dozens of Amish families have settled in Aroostook County and other parts of Maine in the last decade, and they now operate farms, carpentry shops, bakeries and other businesses. While they avoid most kinds of modern technology, they do participate in one of Maine’s oldest traditions: hunting, with firearms.

SEYMOUR, IA - Rebuilding is well underway on farms in Wayne County, after an EF-2 tornado struck Monday night. The twister also damaged the school and homes in Seymour. Four Amish farms as far as six miles southwest of town were damaged. Vernon Mullet's farm had three buildings destroyed, including his house, a barn, and a huge shop used to build

BELLEVILLE, PA - One woman was injured when the Amish buggy in which she was traveling was hit with a BB or similar projectile. According to the release, officers were dispatched Tuesday to the area of Trella Street in Belleville. A woman passenger said she and the buggy were hit by a BB or similar projectile while the buggy was traveling toward South Penn Street.

LANCASTER, PA - On Tuesday, a man riding a bicycle exposed himself to young Amish children who were walking home at 3:15 p.m. from Forest Hill Amish School in Upper Leacock Township, near Leola. He approached the children on West Center Square Road, just west of Forest Hill Road, while the children were still within sight of their school, East Lampeter Township police said.

LANCASTER, PA - Lancaster County is home to the United States premier center for academic research into Amish and other Plain Sect culture, and it's expanding. Two wings totaling about 3,500 square feet will be added to Elizabethtown College's Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies, increasing its size by 60 percent.

HUNTINGTON TWP, OH - When Levi Shetler and his friend and work partner Jon Swartzentruber were hit by a driver Jan. 18 in an accident that left Swartzentruber dead, it was the 14th time Shetler was hit while traveling in an Amish buggy. Shetler, 54, of Huntington Township, is recovering from the crash on state Route 58 and looks remarkably unscathed for a man who has had so many brushes with death. He’s attending outpatient physical therapy, is up and moving and a neighbor drives him to appointments. He said this accident was by far the worst of the 14, and ligaments in his neck and other parts of his body cause him constant pain.