Amish in the News

Grand Rapids, Michigan - Ben's Soft Pretzels is finding its sweet spot in Meijer stores. In the last few years, the fastest-growing soft pretzel franchise in the United States has opened a dozen locations in Meijer stores across the Michigan-based retailer's Midwest footprint.

Amish couples usually keep a wedding announcement secret until it’s revealed or “published” in church. Still, there’s plenty of speculation over who will be married as the curious search for telltale signs. “Folks watch to see whether families with marriage-eligible girls might be painting their homes,” said Karen M. Johnson-Weiner. “And whether those girls might be sewing new dark blue dresses.”

Jefferson County, Illinois -- A Jefferson County man is facing sex abuse charges. Rudy Byler, 38, of Belle Rive was arrested Wednesday on charges of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, aggravated criminal sexual assault of a victim under the age of 13, and aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a victim under the age of 9.

Motorists in eastern P.E.I. are being asked to watch for a different kind of vehicle on the roads as the first Amish couple has arrived in the area, and with them, a horse and buggy. Brad Oliver, a local realtor, helped the pair move in to their new home in Summerville last week. All four parents of the couple are expected to arrive Tuesday. Oliver said another group also plans to set up in Dundas.

Millersburg, Ohio - If plain communities don’t deal with sexual abuse among them, the state will step in to deal with the problem, and some freedoms may be lost. That was Chester Weaver’s sober message to attendees of the 11th Anabaptist Identity Conference March 10-12.

Hammond, New York - A 9 year old Amish boy was killed Saturday morning in a farm accident off Route 37, near Hammond. 7 News reporter John Moore, on scene, spoke with the boy's father, Henry Mast, who identified the child as David Mast.

Larue, Ohio - A "large caliber," high-powered firearm was used in the shooting of two houses in western Marion County between 1:30 and 1:45 a.m. Sunday, according to a Marion County Sheriff's Office statement released Tuesday. The residents of both homes are Amish, and no one was hit, Sheriff Tim Bailey said.

Who is likely to be a more successful entrepreneur – a Harvard Business School graduate or an Amish man who quit school in eighth grade? According to new research, the answer may surprise you. Amish scholar Don Kraybill says the failure rate of Amish start-ups is less than 10%, while the failure rate for non-Amish businesses is 65%. Although it is tempting to say that their businesses target different consumers, the reality is that Amish businesses are competitive with mainstream businesses, with many Amish even offering online ordering and shipping.

Lancaster, Pennsylvania – A Lancaster County man has been charged with exposing himself to Amish women and girls. Benjamin R. Grafius, 39, of New Holland, admitted he targeted Amish and Mennonites for three months last summer. He told investigators the women and children were “easy targets” who wouldn’t call police, according to the district attorney’s office.

Canton, Ohio - Gifts of money, food, building materials and other support from the entire community have been a godsend to an Amish family who are finishing a new home out of the ashes of a house where a father and son died Jan. 11. The family of Jost Y. Hershberger, 58, and his son, Benjamin Y. Hershberger, 18, who died in the fire, want to say thank you, said Eli Hershberger, a neighbor.

Two former classmates who bumped into each other while shopping Friday believe they were there for a reason that day. Both women, who were trained in First Aid, were in the same aisle at the right time when an Amish baby was choking on a lollipop. Leslie Austin of downtown New Castle and Cheryl Paolini of Neshannock Township graduated together from New Castle High School.

Lancaster, Pennsylvania - Days after a tornado hit the Eby family's Lancaster County farm, the extent of the devastation finally sunk in. "At first we were just so happy with all of the support we had from the community," said Corrie Eby, 32, who was in her basement holding her 2-year-old daughter, Gloria, when a tornado hit the home at 334 Millwood Road in Salisbury Township Wednesday.

Jesus says in Matthew 5:11, “Blessed are ye when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.” You have done just that in your letter to me. You are not welcome here anymore until things are made right, and you repent. Every time you come, I end up getting a letter full of lies, which you know are not true.

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Gap, Pennsylvania - More than 100 Amish were gathered in a barn on Seldomridge Road here Wednesday when the winds suddenly and violently kicked up. Beth Engel, pastor of the nearby Pequea Presbyterian Church, also in Gap, said attendees would later say it felt like the "barn was breathing," as what is now aconfirmed tornado passed over them and cut a path through surrounding Salisbury Township.

What makes a quilt Amish? Does it have to be “quilted by a group of Amish women sitting around the frame in their sitting room?” Or does it have to have an Amish pattern, like the Amish Wedding pattern created and popularized by Rachel Pellman of the Old Country Store in Lancaster, Pa? Is appliqué or pieced the appropriate technique?

Testimony in a bond hearing Wednesday revealed an ongoing criminal investigation against an Amish man charged with poisoning his own wife. Samuel Borntreger appeared in a Harrison County courtroom Wednesday on a charge of first-degree murder in the death of his wife, Anna Yoder Borntreger, in 2006. Authorities raised the possibility of additional charges while arguing that Borntreger's bond shouldn't be lowered from its current level of $250,000.

LaGrange, Indiana - One Amish family in LaGrange County is still in shock after their horse was shot in a drive-by shooting Wednesday morning. So far, neither the police nor the family knows who did this. Now, they're just hoping to find answers. The owner’s grandson heard the shots. He wants to warn others about the incident.

Sarasota, Florida - Sarasota County commissioners on Wednesday approved a master plan to preserve and protect the Pinecraft neighborhood, a historic Amish and Mennonite community struggling to maintain its lifestyle amid the steady encroachment of the modern world.

Strasburg, Pennsylvania - Soon after birth, Daniel and Rebecca Stoltzfus's first child fell ill. Fearing pneumonia, her parents rushed her to a hospital where she later died. Testing revealed Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (SCID), a rare genetic disease, as the cause of death.

Visitors to my neighborhood in central Maine are often startled by the presence of Amish people. Locals, though, are accustomed to the yellow road signs with black silhouettes of horse-drawn buggies, tracks of bicycle tires and horse hooves in the snow on the shoulder, and the sight of women in bonnets and long dresses in line at the local grocery store. The handful of families that arrived eight years ago have grown into a sizeable and thriving group which coexists well within the greater community.

Gallia County, Ohio - A man is behind bars, accused of robbing an Amish bakery and store. The robbery happened about 11:45 a.m. Friday at Hillside Variety Store on Deckard Road in Raccoon Township in Gallia County. Investigators say Steven S. Davis, 41, of Gallipolis, walked into the store and had what appeared to be a handgun tucked into this pants.

Sam Girod is a Kentucky farmer who runs a small business selling natural skin salves made from herbs such as chickweed, which seem to help relieve a host of skin conditions, including allergic rashes, psoriasis, poison oak and even skin cancers.

Hansen, Wisconsin - Amish safety on Wisconsin roads needs to be addressed in the wake of recent fatal buggy crashes, according to a state lawmaker. Republican State Rep. Bob Kulp of Stratford hopes the Amish communities in Wisconsin would be open to a discussion about making horse-drawn vehicles more visible. Many Amish don't realize how difficult it can be for a driver to see a buggy when their vehicle is traveling 55 or 60 mph down a highway, he told Daily Tribune Media (http://wrtnews.co/1nIhfGu ).

The non-Amish community has been reaching out to Amish neighbors near Canton since Jan. 11, when a fire destroyed not only a home but is presumed to have taken the lives of two Amish men – Yost Hershberger, 58, and his son, Benjamin Hershberger, 18. Even as the fire was burning, some English, as the Amish call non-Amish, were at the scene, helping out in large and small ways, even bringing groceries to the affected families.

Shortly after a fire tore through an Amish home 14 miles south of Lanesboro, killing two men, a call went out for help. In southeastern Minnesota, where the Amish and non-Amish coexist but rarely intermingle, the call was heard by everyone, said local resident Mary Bell. Hundreds of Amish have stopped by the property since the Jan. 11 fire, but so, too, has a contractor with heavy machinery, bakers donating pies, visitors with donations of food and cash for the family, and others. It’s been a comforting reminder that the Amish and non-Amish communities can rely on each other when needed, said Bell.

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania - An Amish man who led state police on a chase that hit speeds of up to 120 mph through northern Dauphin County was sentenced to 2 years of probation after pleading guilty to multiple charges Wednesday. Sylvan M. Stoltzfus wasn't driving a buggy during the pursuit. And no, he didn't have a really fast horse, either.

Spartansburg, Pennsylvania - Mineral spirit lamps light shelves of soup mixes, bulk candies, natural remedies and straw hats. A homemade ice chest keeps perishables fresh, including roll butter and sausage casing. The restroom is an outhouse near the parking lot. Schrock’s General Store, 43446 Penoyer Road in Rome Township, Crawford County, has been the Spartansburg area’s “Amish Walmart” for 26 years.

Fredericksburg, Ohio - From the inside of a small, 1800s-era log cabin, Amish farmer and author David Kline writes about farming, nature and the simple way of life that he enjoys. Outside of the cabin - on the family's 120-acre organic dairy farm in northeastern Ohio - he lives that life each day, surrounded by the farm animals and wildlife, family and friends that he calls home.

As part of this week's Community Vibe series. We're exploring one interesting thing about different towns across the state. Today, we go to northern Mid-Michigan, which is home to a large Amish population. For some Amish families there, their traditional lifestyle is starting to evolve and change.

Canton, Minnesota - A sheriff in southeastern Minnesota says the two people killed in a house fire are believed to be a local Amish bishop and his teenage son. Fillmore County Sheriff Tom Kaase says the coroner has not made positive identification, but investigators believe the victims are 58-year-old Yost Hershberger and 18-year-old Ben Hershberger.