News

REXFORD, MT - The wildfire that ran roughshod through West Kootenai west of Eureka on Saturday evening wreaked havoc on Montana’s oldest Amish community. “Everyone’s kind of in shock. We’re just kind of dazing around here,” Darinda Yoder said Tuesday from her family’s temporary home near Rexford across Lake Koocanusa. The house and adjacent Kootenai Kraft and Grocery that Yoder and husband Dean own weren’t among the 10 homes burned by the Caribou fire when it came roaring down the mountain within three miles of Canada.

Andy Weaver had always loved his quaint Amish community in West Salem, Ohio, United States. He treasured the joys of simple life and the natural rewards of hard work and communal living. It was his people’s Christian religion, however, that presented him with some challenges. “I never found peace in the Amish religion,” said Andy. In his communal church, he heard a lot of “fire and brimstone” preaching. How can a merciful God torture sinners in the lake of fire for eternity? he wondered. How can I know whether I will end up living with God or burning for ever?

OSWEGATCHIE, NY - Two Amish men were charged with third-degree criminal mischief, a class E felony, by St. Lawrence County sheriff's deputies Monday, Aug. 28. A press release from the sheriff's office said the Amos F. Gingerich, 45, and Henry A. Gingerich, 16, both of 595 Horseshoe Road, Heuvelton, allegedly cut hay on another person's property without permission on Aug. 4.

MORRISTOWN, NY - A second drowning victim pulled from the murky waters of Black Lake near Edwardsville about 8:30 a.m. Friday has been identified as 47-year-old Menno L. Glick of Hammond, according to the St. Lawrence County Sheriff’s office. On Wednesday, the body of 67-year-old Eli Yoder was pulled from the water. Mr. Yoder, a member of the Lisbon Amish community, had been fishing with Mr. Glick when their boat apparently capsized, according to St. Lawrence County Sheriff’s deputies.

Terri Roberts, the mother of Nickel Mines shooter Charles Carl Roberts IV, died Saturday after a battle with cancer. Roberts, 66, was under the care of Hospice & Community Care when she died, according to an obituary posted Monday by Bachman Funeral Home. The Strasburg Township woman was remarkably open about her son after he barricaded himself in a rural Amish schoolhouse on Oct. 2, 2006, killing five girls and wounding five more before fatally shooting himself.

When I was a young girl, my father left the Amish and took me with him. He felt that the Amish culture was too staunch and that the tradition and doctrine of men was not of God. Instead, he believed that Jesus was the answer. We joined a Mennonite church, which I didn’t care for. I felt that this church was too strict and too focused on the outward whereas God cared about and looked at the heart.

0 comments

ELKHART, IN — After visiting 450 Cracker Barrel Old Country Stores around the country during a 30-year span, Ray and Wilma Yoder decided it was time to set a goal of visiting all of the company's restaurants. Now, the Goshen couple is just one stop away from enjoying their favorite foods at all 645 Cracker Barrel locations in 44 states. In less than two weeks, on Aug. 26, they'll mark off the last location when they visit Tualatin, Oregon, a suburb of Portland. Company officials will send them to Portland to visit the nearby Tualatin Cracker Barrel location, as a way of thanking them for visiting the 644 sites.

Pennsylvania does not require the Amish to purchase or display a license plate on their buggies, and it would take an act of the state Legislature to change the rules. But that law could soon change. That’s the short answer to a question posed by a reader as part of LancasterOnline's reader-powered journalism project, We The People.

Parents whose children are taken from them often fear that their children will forget them, especially if the children are very young when Child Protective Services steps in. However, there is a deep need inside human beings to know our biological parents, even if we don’t remember anything about them. There is something inside that longs to know where we came from and wants to connect with the truth. Elizabeth Byler of Pennsylvania is a mother of medically kidnapped children who has prayed that her children will not forget her. She also understands this longing from the perspective of the child, because she was raised in the Amish community by people who were not her parents. Since Elizabeth’s story broke on Health Impact News, there have been some interesting developments with regards to finding her biological father.

DARLINGTON, WI - An Argyle teenager was sentenced Wednesday to five years in prison for breaking into a residence and raping an underage girl in the Town of Fayette in 2016. Daniel Esh Fisher, 18, was sentenced in Lafayette County Circuit Court to concurrent sentences of five years in prison with seven additional years of supervision on a Class C felony count of second-degree sexual assault with the use of force and a sentence of one year in prison and two years of supervision on a Class I felony count of exposing genitals to a child.

RUSSELLVILLE, KY – Two men who are part of the Amish community living in Auburn were found guilty of violating that city’s ordinance requiring large animals to be fitted with bags to collect their droppings. Wilbur Mast, 20, and Rudy P. Miller, 31, were convicted by separate six-person juries in Logan District Court on six counts of violating the local ordinance. Mast was acquitted of one other count. Both men will be required to pay $300 in fines – $50 for each violation.

LANCASTER, PA - What if a diverse bunch of Mennonites and Amish got together for a faith-building vacation on a cruise ship? It’s not hypothetical. The Sail and Sing Cruise has been happening each year since 2012, when Ryan Bomgardner of Lancaster, Pa., got the idea. This year’s voyage was to Alaska in June. About 650 people took part. “Everybody goes on vacation to refresh and relax,” Bomgardner said. “What if we put together a vacation for people to come back spiritually refreshed, as well as honor our heritage?”

RUSSELLVILLE, KY – A total of 37 cases involving members of Auburn’s Amish community who have been cited for violating the city’s ordinance requiring them to clean up after their horses will be headed to trial next month. The cases involve citations against 12 men dating back to last year. Auburn’s ordinance requires owners of large animals to fit them with devices to catch their droppings while they’re in the city limits, citing a need to promote public safety.

WISCONSIN RAPIDS, WI - An investigation is still underway in Wood County into a fatal accident involving an Amish buggy. Rebecca Helmuth, 20, of Arpin was killed Monday evening after the Amish buggy she was riding in was hit by an SUV driven by Audrey Hanson, 43, of Granton. Hanson and the 17-year-old female operating the carriage were also injured.

GLADWIN COUNTY, MI - Two Amish men recently confessed to shooting a snapping turtle in rural Gladwin County. According to an official report by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, the incident occurred in mid-to-late June when Mark Papineau, a conservation officer in DNR District 5, investigated the report of a snapping turtle that appeared to have been killed by gunshot.

MEXICO - In 1948, I lived in Laredo, Texas, on the border of Mexico. I learned about the Amish coming to Mexico to establish a colony somewhere in high in the mountains of northern Mexico. They asked about some land and the Mexican government gave them land that was desert, unproductive, and nothing else, I was told. What I was told by Mexicans about the Amish was their admiration for the Amish. They told me that the Amish made the land productive and shipped thousands of freight car loads of apples to Mexico City every year. This is all hearsay as I did not visit the colony or check any records about them.

COLUMBIA, MO - Albert Lee had his right arm around Jack Howard’s throat. With his left arm, Lee secured his hold. He wrapped both legs around his sparring partner, ensuring Howard couldn’t get up from the mat. This is a normal Thursday night at the Hulett House, a Columbia gym operated by Rob Hulett, who has trained mixed martial arts fighters here for 20 years.

DAVIESS County, IN - Many of the roads across Daviess County are gravel, but that’s starting to change. The county recently bought a surplus paving unit to convert some of the more heavily-traveled roads to pavement. But, it’s not making the roads much smoother. The county has a large Amish population that relies on horse-drawn buggies for transportation. And the steel horseshoes they use are hurting the roads. Daviess County is searching for a solution to prevent significant damage to its paved roads.

I was born and raised in the Amish culture. Growing up, I don't ever remember desiring not to be Amish. I sincerely thought that being a part of the Amish was the only way I would have a chance to go to heaven one day. When I was twenty years old, I married my wife, Leah. God then blessed us with eight wonderful children. As an Amish man, I was very zealous about my religion and tried my best to live according to the rules and what I understood of God's Word. I was involved in enforcing the excommunication of several people in my community because they claimed they could be sure that if they would die, they would go to Heaven. These people believed that salvation had nothing to do with following the Amish rules, which was not a permissible way of thinking.

1 comments

Kalona, IA - This small town has become a landmark in the organic-farm movement, and it has nothing to do with foodies or hippies. Instead it has been Amish farmers who, in their suspenders and wide-brimmed hats, have helped develop one of the densest clusters of organic farms in the United States. More than 90 operations certified by the Agriculture Department have emerged within a 10-mile radius, producing, among other things, corn, soybeans, eggs and, perhaps most important, milk.

Thorndike, ME - With rain in the forecast, hay on the ground and high stakes in front of him, Kenneth Copp was racing the clock. The Thorndike furniture-maker and farmer was beginning to feel desperate about his chances of getting the first hay cutting inside his barn before the predicted rains came. His horses will eat hay from the bales all winter, and he can’t afford to purchase supplemental hay if his crop is lost to mildew and rot. So the wiry 57-year-old rolled up the sleeves of his thin cotton shirt, adjusted the turquoise sweat band beneath his straw hat and got to work on the huge task ahead of him — alone.

Lexington, KY – An Amish farmer has been sentenced to six years in federal prison for selling improperly labeled herbal salve. U.S. District Judge Danny Reeves handed down the sentence against Samuel Girod on Friday in Lexington. Outraged supporters of the rural Kentucky farmer pledged to seek a pardon from President Donald Trump.

Holmes County, OH - Sitting on the back of a wagon pulled by two beautiful horses in Holmes County OH, I finally had a chance to speak directly to an Amish teenager about the Rumschpringe experience. With the beautiful green scenery passing by us, the young teenager described to us his plans and options and this juncture of his life and how Rumschpringe might affect it. I also realized that some aspects of Rumschpringe carry with them a valuable lesson for Jewish teens, while others do not.

Wooster, Ohio - Ohio police had to make an unusual stop after finding a driverless Amish buggy going down the road. In a Facebook post, the Wooster Police Department says the horse apparently decided to take a morning run Sunday without its owners.

Fossil Hill, Ontario - Manitoulin’s relatively new Amish community is dealing with its first horse and buggy accident on an Island roadway, thankfully not involving a motorized vehicle. On Saturday morning Manitowaning’s Shirley Hamilton and a friend were on their way to breakfast at JD’s Garden Shed Café in Tehkummah when they made a starting discovery while cresting Fossil Hill on Highway 6, just before New England Road.

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.