News

CHISHOLM TOWNSHIP, ONTARIO — At time when public schools in large urban areas like North Bay are amalgamating and schools are up for sale, the need for elementary education is growing in Chisholm where the Amish community hopes to break ground later this year for their second parochial school.

FARMINGTON, MO - Visitation for a 7-year old boy who was killed when a pickup struck the horse-drawn buggy he was riding in was Monday.

ST. FRANCOIS COUNTY, MO — A small cross with flowers sits on the side of Highway OO in Fredericktown. It was not there as of Thursday afternoon.

A Moultrie County judge last week awarded guardianship of an elderly Amish woman to the woman’s daughter, capping a fight that has spilled from the insular world of the Amish to the civil court system.

BERLIN, OH — The board of directors of an Amish Mennonite-run charity rocked by revelations that one of its workers sexually abused dozens of boys in Haiti has now placed two of its top officials — Paul Weaver and Eli Weaver — on leave pending an investigation as they have acknowledged that they allowed a confessed pedophile to return to Haiti, where he then continued to serially rape young boys. The man is currently free after fleeing back to the United States, but the organization believes he should be sent back to Haiti to face up to his crimes.

An attorney for Wallace J. Schmucker, 55, of Punxsutawney filed a motion to modify his bail to allow him to be released and return to a treatment facility.

CLARKSVILLE, TN - A crew of Amish workers has been hammering and chiseling atop a downtown Clarksville building for the past week, taking apart the 140-year-old Hodgson/Dabbs building by hand.

COLDWATER, MI -  The Branch County District Court preliminary examination for an Angola, Indiana man who is facing charges in connection with the deaths of three children in a June 7, 2019 Algansee Township traffic accident has been rescheduled.

North Stonington, CT — Having arrived at 6:30 a.m. after an hours-long drive from central Pennsylvania, five Amish carpenters constructed a pavilion at Hewitt Farm in less than six hours Monday, piecing together pre-cut and pressure-treated wood planks stained with beeswax.

PRESTON, MN — Four members of the Amish community in Fillmore County have asked a judge to amend his April ruling or grant them a new trial in the years-long struggle over residential wastewater disposal regulations.

Amos and Elizabeth Lapp, an older Amish couple looking to move off the farm, eyed a cozy, two-bedroom house for sale. It was in the middle of a quiet street of little houses close to New Holland.

The Amish and Mennonite communities will have to prepare for an arduous push to implement a new law ending religious exemptions for school vaccinations in New York.

An Amish man faces charges including DUI after his horse-drawn buggy collided with a car in Kentucky. 

An Amish man faces charges including DUI after his horse-drawn buggy collided with a car in Kentucky. 

Followers of Jacob Byler's faith tend to shun the trappings of technology and their usual mode of transport is a horse-drawn buggy.

ANGOLA — A northeastern Indiana man who pleaded guilty in a drunken-driving crash involving a horse-drawn carriage has been ordered to pay $427,000 in restitution to the crash victims.

ANGOLA, IN - A northeastern Indiana man who pleaded guilty in a drunken-driving crash involving a horse-drawn carriage near the Michigan state line has been ordered to pay $427,000 in restitution to the victims

MICHIGAN — An Indiana man who hit an Amish horse-drawn carriage in southern Michigan killing three children told police he was drunk at the time of the crash.

FARGO, N.D. — John Shrock was 17 when he decided to flee his Amish community in Wisconsin after facing the pressure of "constantly trying to live up to perfection."

In the last five years, there have sadly been a few major crashes between motor cars, and horse drawn buggies. One accident even sent four kids to the hospital, and a horse died. Up to this point, there didn't seem to be many laws on the books really targeted at trying to make horse drawn buggies safer to drive at night.

SHENANDOAH, OH - A group of women wearing bonnets and dark-colored dresses smiled as they toured Shiloh Medical Services, a new clinic at Ohio 13 and Ohio 603.

AUGUSTA, Maine — Gov. Janet Mills on May 30 signed into law a measure to improve road safety in Amish communities and across the state.

A southern Indiana Amish couple with 13 children has settled a multi-year lawsuit with the federal government, allowing the Canadian wife to become a permanent U.S. resident without submitting photos of herself in the application. 

Henderson Township, PA – Two Amish girls from Jefferson County who were reported as missing have now been found.

The transition from civilian to Soldier can be a culture shock, but for one new Soldier, the challenge of adapting to a new culture is far from a unique experience.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE, OH — Now that the weather is warming up, Eastern Ohio motorists can expect to encounter more than just cars and trucks on local roadways.

SULLIVAN, OH — Black River seniors Ben Miller and Ella Yoder could have completely different lives than they do now.

HUNTINGDON, PA — Martha Peight stood in the first row of the courtroom, shaking yet resolute, as she held the printout of her victim-impact statement.

BIRMINGHAM, OH — An Amish home on Beal Road in northern Guernsey County sustained extensive fire damage Saturday afternoon as firefighters from seven area departments responded to the blaze.

Understanding Amish values and customs helps us support families and communities to keep their children safe. In this piece, we provide background on various aspects of Amish life as well as specific suggestions regarding child abuse and neglect.