Amish in the News

Who needs machinery when you can get a few hundred of your closest friends to help you move your barn?

The criminal complaint against the Amish bishop is clear about how he learned of a church member’s alleged sexual assault on three young teenage girls:

PEQUEA TOWNSHIP, PA — An Amish bishop was charged this week by Pennsylvania authorities with failing to report sexual abuse allegedly committed by one of his congregants.

Police in Northeast Ohio broke up a large gathering of Amish people over the weekend after a man spotted a group of buggies and called 911 to report a stay-at-home order violation.

The party took place in Huntsburg Township, Ohio.  Huntsburg is home to a very large Amish population about an hour East of Cleveland.  There have been reports along with pictures of large Amish gatherings sent to police during the Stay Home order.   Read More

MERCER COUNTY, PA - State Police say they broke up a drinking party involving eight Amish teens and one 20-year-old in Mercer County.

WARREN, OH — When it comes down to love or the law, it seems the law will prevail.

On Thursday, The New York Times reported that an Amish community in Ohio is mobilizing to create medical supplies for local hospitals.

Hospitals and clinics in cities across the U.S. have recently established drive-through testing for COVID-19. It’s the strategy that enabled countries like South Korea and Japan to test as many as one out of every 142 people for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the infectious disease, thus helping to track and slow the virus’ spread.

BLOOMFIELD, IA - Back in mid-March, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds gave a directive that all Iowa schools close for a period of four weeks, a measure taken to help control the spread of the coronavirus that causes the COVID-19 disease.

UNITY, ME - Most Wednesday mornings, the delicious smell of freshly made doughnuts entices crowds of people to the Amish-run Community Market in Unity.

COLUMBUS, OH - The leader of a breakaway Amish group in Ohio who was sentenced to prison for beard- and hair-cutting attacks will get to to serve the rest of his sentence at home after his attorney argued the new coronavirus puts the 74-year-old bishop at risk.

On Friday night, the bishops in a tri-county area of the Amish community had a meeting to discuss COVID-19 and their response to it.

One-room Amish schoolhouses across Lancaster County are closed for the week, yet scores of Amish wedding goers Tuesday filled a big tent on a farm near New Holland.

Ruth Lapp said she always let her babies crawl on the floor when they were young. And when her children complain of a sore throat, she gives them a spoonful of vinegar, a remedy she says could cure any infection.

CLEVELAND, OH - Amish bishop Sam Mullet, one of more dozen people convicted in a series of nighttime raids and beard cuttings on his enemies in eastern Ohio, wants out of federal custody because of the coronavirus.

MANHEIM TOWNSHIP, PA — When Earl Hurst bought 100 acres of farmland in rural Lancaster County in 1952, he planned for the fertile fields to help sustain his family. And for a generation, they did just that.

ARTHUR, IL — Mennonite farmer Willis Kuhns said 2019 was “as frustrating as it gets.”

NEW WILMINGTON, PA — One teenager is injured after a garbage truck collided with an Amish buggy in Pennsylvania.

As the new coronavirus spreads throughout Pennsylvania, health officials are working to inform Plain communities in Lancaster County of the virus.

The procession of 3 wheel bicycles rolled down 17th Street before turning right into the 17th Street Softball complex.

Torah Bontrager can’t stop fighting for closure. She recently said she wouldn’t be able to say how it might feel to never receive judicial retribution for the multiple violations she had to experience as an adolescent at the hands of her uncle.

Ohio has a substantial number of Amish residents. Some are in our own region. All too frequently, we have to report accidents in which motor vehicles have struck horse-draw buggies operated by the Amish.

LAGRANGE, IN - The first day turned into a disaster at a new local business after fire that destroyed the building and equipment on Tuesday.

Technology promised to connect us but divided us instead. As people worry about smartphone addiction and vow to spend less time on their laptops, social media companies are scrambling to placate a world that has caught on to their products’ ability to turn us against one another, tip elections and even incite violence.

The bill would require animal-drawn vehicles to display these two things on top of the vehicle at all times. Failure to do so could result in a fine.

COLUMBUS, OH - A new proposed Ohio law, backed by state lawmakers representing areas of the state with significant Amish populations, would toughen visibility requirements on buggies and other horse-drawn vehicles in an effort to reduce crashes.

HARRISBURG, PA – Legislation that passed the state House would call for stiffer penalties for careless driving that injures “vulnerable” highway users, like pedestrians, bicyclists and those riding in horse-and-buggies.

PORTAGE, WI — Wisconsin is home to a number of Amish communities which are typically seen as quiet, quaint places.

FRANKLIN COUNTY, PA  - A Pennsylvania accountant defrauded Amish and Mennonite community members out of $60 million after investing their money in a failing dairy he owned, investigators said.