Amish in the News

A Barren County man confessed Sunday to killing his wife nine years ago when the couple was living in Missouri, according to a release from Barren County Sheriff Kent Keen. Samuel Borntreger, 39, of East Nobob Road, told Barren County sheriff's deputies that he poisoned his late wife, the release said.

Authorities pulled two bodies from the rubble Monday afternoon after a large fire engulfed one of three houses on an Amish family's property in southeastern Minnesota. The blaze erupted shortly after 1 a.m. on land just north of Canton and 14 miles south of Lanesboro in Fillmore County, where there is also a saw mill operation, according to Sheriff Tom Kaase.

Auburn, Kentucky - An Amish man was found not guilty in Logan District Court on Friday morning by a jury of six individuals. John Mast was cited on Oct. 8, 2015, in the city of Auburn for violating an ordinance that requires a collection device on all large animals that travel through the city limits. Mast is one of many that has been through the court system in the last year for violating the ordinance, however, he is the first to be found not guilty. Two other Amish individuals were found guilty last year for the violation and went to jail for not paying their fines and court costs.

Livingston County, New York - A man has been arrested and charged in Livingston County for supplying alcohol to minors after a large party in July. Michael Yutzy, 22, Jamesport is charged with two misdemeanors for supplying liquor to a minor.

Auburn, Kentucky - Another Amish man has asked for a trial regarding a citation he received Oct. 8, 2015, for being in violation of an ordinance that requires a collection device on large animals within the city limits of Auburn. According to the city's police chief, John Mast of Pilot Knob Road asked for a jury trial at his preliminary hearing on Dec. 10. Chief Larry Jones stopped Mast after seeing him travel down Wilson Avenue in a buggy pulled by a horse without a collection devise.

Paradise, Pennsylvaia - Emergency crews put out a house fire at the home of an Amish family in Paradise, Lancaster County on Wednesday morning. It happened at 853 Strasburg Road. Officials say the home belongs to an Amish couple and their six children. Four of the family members were home during the incident.

Lancaster, Pennsylvania - As people debate allowing Syrian refugees to enter the United States, Farhan Al Qadri and his family are actually doing it. The Al Qadris - Farhan, his wife Muna, and four of their nine children - moved to the United States in June. Their first glimpse of the U.S. was the inside of JFK Airport in New York, before they were shuttled to the farmlands of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where they now live in a three-bedroom rowhouse in the heart of the city.

Indiana - A formerly Amish truck driver destroyed a historic bridge in Indiana because she flubbed the math on the weight of her big rig, police said. Mary Lambright, 23, drove a 30-ton tractor-trailer full of bottled water over the Paoli Bridge - a delicate iron span built in 1880 - at around noon on Christmas Day, causing it to collapse, according to the Herald Times.

When my book about Amish fiction, Thrill of the Chaste, came out in the beginning of 2013, lots of people asked me, "Is Amish fiction here to stay?" Those in-the-know added, "Or will it go the way of Christian chick lit?" That is: to the grave? (In 2005, an article in the New York Post suggested that Christian chick lit was "one of the biggest growth industries in American publishing." Within a year the subgenre had "lost all momentum," according to literary agent Steve Laube.)

Winona, Minnesota - Animal welfare protesters may soon descend on Amish farms in Winona County. For the last few years, several Amish men have been operating kennels where they breed and sell scores of dogs to pet dealers. Their operations are licensed and inspected by both the federal government and the state of Minnesota. Over the last three years, USDA inspectors found some violations of health and welfare rules that were later corrected, including a couple instances where injured dogs had not received veterinary care, according to USDA reports. Amish men said they are very careful about following state and federal animal welfare rules - if they did not they would be shut down.

A New York man and his girlfriend were sentenced on Thursday to 580 years and 300 years in federal prison, respectively, for drugging and sexually exploiting half a dozen young girls, including two Amish sisters they abducted from a roadside farm stand, according to court records.

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Grand Rapids, Michigan - A former Amish farmer who joined his cancer-stricken brother in an elaborate Newaygo County marijuana grow operation that netted 860 marijuana plants and 780 pounds of harvested pot was sentenced to more than three years in federal prison, despite his attorney's plea for leniency. Moses Mast, a 40-year-old father of five, was sentenced to 37 months in prison for conspiring to grow marijuana.

Lancaster, Pennsylvania - A Lancaster County doctor's account of how genetic medicine helped an Amish family has caught the attention of the national scientific community. Dr. Kevin A. Strauss, medical director of the Strasburg-based Clinic for Special Children, used pseudonyms to tell Scientific American the story of Esther, who was born with Omenn syndrome, a rare and lethal condition.

Baker, Idaho - The new Country Market in Baker has become a bit of a tourist attraction thanks to a Nov. 10 report by KIDK 3 out of Idaho Falls. The market is owned and operated by the Millers, an Amish family that recently moved from Pennsylvania to Baker — eight miles outside of Salmon. “Since the TV interview, we’ve seen a lot of people,” said market owner Paul Miller. “We’ve seen people come all the way from Rexburg, Pocatello and Boise.”

Back in 1973, Sam Stoltzfus helped prepare a directory for the Lancaster Amish settlement. It listed 50 church districts. The one for 1995 listed 100 districts. Today, there are more than 200. So when researchers say the Amish population doubles about every 20 years? “I can vouch for that,” said Stoltzfus, an Amish historian and small-business owner in Gordonville.

Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin - When Christopher Kempf's horse-drawn wagon was hit by a pickup truck, he was only about 400 yards from the driveway of his home. Kempf and his 10-year-old son were bringing a load of corn stalks out of a field a short distance from their home at about 6 p.m. Friday when a pickup slammed into the back of the horse-drawn wagon, said Nicole Fox, who lives outside of Arpin and is a driver for the Amish community. Kempf has six children, including the oldest, who was on the wagon, Fox said. She's afraid the children will never forget what they saw that night.

Leroy Stolzfus, 22, of Gordonville, crossed the finish line of the Harrisburg Marathon Nov. 8 in three hours, 5 minutes and 45 seconds. That's a pretty impressive time for anyone, less than a minute away from a Boston Marathon qualifying time for a man his age. But Stolzfus ran the whole 26.2 miles in slacks, a long-sleeve button down shirt and suspenders, as he is Amish.

Dr. Steven M. Nolt, widely recognized for his scholarship on the history, life and culture of the Amish and Mennonite communities, has been appointed Senior Scholar at the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown (Pennsylvania) College. The professor and prolific author succeeds Plain Sect researcher Dr. Donald B. Kraybill who retired as Senior Fellow from the Young Center this past July.

Jefferson County, Pennsylvania - A fire broke out in the basement of an Amish home in Henderson Township on Saturday morning. The father of Simon, 14, that was involved in the fire said his son was trying to light a stove when the fire broke out. The father said he believes Simon used kerosene when he was unable to light the stove in the basement.

Waterford, Ohio - A burning Amish buggy, pulled by a horse on Waterford Road, was completely burned up Tuesday morning and no driver was found. Fredericktown Fire Chief Scott Mast said a motorist spotted the burning buggy about 7 a.m., called the fire department and followed for about a mile between Batemantown and Whitney Road, just south of Waterford, where it turned into a home, though not the home of the owner.

Jonathan W. Young, 50, of 4170 Parkman Road, Warren was arrested Monday for allegedly stealing from the Amish. On Nov. 9, Geauga County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to Glacier Block Company, 14430 Madison Road, Middlefield Township, in reference to recent thefts from the Amish in the Middlefield and Parkman areas.

South Bend, Indiana - Federal officials are accusing a Goshen man of committing securities fraud after they say he bilked $3.9 million from at least 70 novice investors — many of whom were Amish — by fraudulently persuading them to invest in two companies he owned. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a federal lawsuit that accuses Earl D. Miller, 36, of committing a fraudulent scheme through two private investment vehicles — 5 Star Commercial LLC and 5 Star Capital LLC. In the suit, the commission said “Miller repeatedly lied to prospective investors” about how their money was being used.

There are many mentions of Ukrainian Amish community in western Ukraine, but they are wrong. Small religious communities living in Ternopil and Ivano-Frankinsk oblasts are identified as Amish, but are not. They are closed Christian communities who have no name for themselves and live in rural settlements along the Dniester River.

This isn’t your usual gun rights story. Nor is it the religious freedom tale you’re used to seeing in political forums. It’s both! Andrew Hertzler, a man who apparently has no criminal record of note nor any other impediment which would prevent an adult American citizen from purchasing a gun, wants to do just that. But he’s not being allowed to. The somewhat complicated reason is that Mr. Hertzler, of Pennsylvania, is Amish.

Wayne County, Ohio - An Amish-owned business in Wayne County went high tech to catch crooks stealing from the front porch. A manager at Kidron Sports Center set up a network of motion-activated surveillance cameras, after someone stole close to $5,000 worth of equipment, including three generators and nine tree stands.

Williamspor, Pennsylvania - An Amish resident of central Pennsylvania is challenging the photo identification requirement to purchase a firearm, saying his religious beliefs prevent him from being photographed. PennLive.com reports that Andrew Hertzler argues in a suit filed Friday in U.S. Middle District Court that the requirement violates his religious freedom and his constitutional right to possess a firearm.

A week ago, my darling Valorie and I were privileged to be invited to an Amish home for an evening dinner and along with several friends from Marshall and Union City, we had the meal of a lifetime — meatloaf, mashed potato, fried chicken and several different sorts of pies. More about rhubarb pie later. For me personally, this event was a culmination in my long-lasting curiosity of Amish life. How can people live without electricity in their homes? No electricity, no appliances, right?Wrong! There were three gas ranges in this home all operating with propane and as I watched the ladies cooking, I tried to figure out the ignition system.

Lagrange County, Indiana - Commissioners in LaGrange county have decided against forcing the county's Amish residents to equip their horses with manure bags. County resident Chad Fry had started a petition, getting more than 1,600 signatures asking officials to require the bags for traffic and sanitary reasons. Fry is a life long resident of the county and says the increase in horse traffic prompted his petition drive.

Graves County, Kentucky - A 5 year-old boy is dead and seven others injured after an Amish buggy and a truck crashed in western Kentucky. The West Kentucky Star reports the Graves County sheriff's office says 69-year-old Robert Zimmer was driving down KY 58 West, when he collided with the buggy.

In an era of declining church membership for most Christian denominations, one group of believers is experiencing healthy, unprecedented growth. In 2014, the estimated Amish population in Indiana exceeded 50,000, according to the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown College. That’s bigger than the cities of Columbus, Jeffersonville or Kokomo and more than double the Amish population of 15 years ago.