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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.

I grew up in the Amish and lived with my parents until I was nineteen years old. At the age of seventeen, I was majorly depressed and suicidal. I had a job that involved farrier work, and one of my customers was a drug addict. One day, I told my customer that I wanted to kill myself, and he said, “don’t kill your-self; ask God what you should do.” I just blew it off thinking “Whatever; that’s weird” because my Dad had taught me growing up that reading the Bible could lead to crazy ideas.

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I was born in Nunnelly, TN. Then, we moved to Homer, MI, Granger, MN, Downing, MO, and Keytesville, MO. We seemed to move about every five years! When I was seventeen years old, I took instruction classes and joined the Amish church. I enjoyed being with the other young folks, and so Sundays were always the highlight of my week.

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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.

I grew up in an Old Order Amish community. My childhood consisted of lots of wonderful fellowship and friendship among the Amish, open buggy rides in the summer, and tasty Amish cooking! I enjoyed being able to grow up in such a relaxed and friendly environment. My relationship with my parents was what you might expect from any typical child-parent relationship. We shared good memories, but we also had stressful times of disagreement and tension. Growing up, I would have never dreamed of not being Amish. However, as I grew older, as wonderful and as peaceful as my childhood was, I began to feel led by God to take some steps toward leaving the Amish.

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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.

St. Charles, Minnesota - An Amish farm family has had a frightening week after a horse-and-buggy accident last Friday. It started when Mervin Bontrager, 28, was driving the buggy with his wife and young children on County Road 37 south of St. Charles, just south of I-90. That's when something spooked the horse.

Car fanatics are quick to spew stats on how much horsepower their prized Camaro or Corvette has, but do they know what horsepower even means? For most of us, it has nothing to do with horses. For Mennonites, who live largely off the grid, what kind of literal horsepower do they have when they travel – as they do – by horse-drawn buggy? Local Old Order Mennonites Wesley and Esther Weber explain how horsepower factors into their life.

Summit Township, Pennsylvania - State police have charged an 18-year-old Pennsylvania man with using a BB gun to shoot a horse that was pulling a buggy, an Amish couple and their 1-year-old infant.

I a welcome and enjoy discussions about the Amish way of life. After receiving questions about what it’s like to be a young Amish woman and if I’d like to have a less strict way of life, I was motivated to grab my pen and write a response to those questions. So who are the Amish? Is it what is read in Beverly Lewis’s popular fiction books about the Amish? Is it like the far-out Amish Mafia shows? Or are they a strict group of people who refuse to socialize with the rest of the world?

Cleveland, Ohio - An Ohio judge on Friday formally ended a court effort to force chemotherapy on an Amish girl whose parents had defied a hospital over her treatment for leukemia, according to a ruling released on Friday. Medina County Probate and Juvenile Judge Kevin Dunn terminated the medical guardianship for the girl, ending a legal battle over the limits on parents' rights to make medical decisions.

Eau Claire County, Wisconsin - A right that the Amish have had in Pennsylvania for years is now available to them in the state of Wisconsin. An Amish dairy farmer in Eau Claire County has received the state's first waiver exempting him from provisions of Wisconsin's Uniform Dwelling Code.

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.

LaGrange, Indiana - Lifelong Lagrange County resident Chad Fry is done horsing around and has been on a quest to get a county ordinance in place requiring horse manure be cleaned up by horse owners. Fry has attended several county commissioners’ meetings and has petitions in support of his plan with approximately 1,500 to 2,000 signatures. Fry will be presenting that petition and making his case at the commissioners' public meeting to be held at 9 a.m. Monday.

Belmont, New York – A 1-year-old Amish girl who suffered lye burns in her Centerville home about 1 p.m. Monday was taken to Women and Children’s Hospital in Buffalo for treatment of possibly severe burns. According to State Police, the little girl’s mother was carrying a bucket of the powerful chemical which she was using to wash laundry but she slipped and the bucket spilled on her and her daughter. The mother also needed medical treatment after the Allegany County incident.

Maine - Detectives searching for Harold “Butch” Knight, who has eluded police for eight months after the murder of his wife, say they are questioning Amish leaders in Maine about whether he is hiding among them. Detectives were recently going through the evidence, again, when it jumped out — the Amish books they had found in Knight’s pole barn near Fennville.

Wayne County, Ohio - A man has come forward saying he may have shot an Amish teen. The 17-year-old was plowing a field in Wayne County when he was hit in the head with a bullet. The teen underwent surgery and has since been released. Sheriff's officials tell WEWS-TV a man told them he was shooting at pigeons in the area, and thinks the bullet may have come from his gun.

Ava, Illinois - In Ava, Illinois, words were written targeting the Amish to move out, words that have neighbors in the area angry, frustrated and shocked. It was reported on Saturday, September 12 to the Jackson County Sheriff's Department that graffiti was spray-painted along Sharp Rock Road in Ava, Illinois.

Kidron, Ohio - A 17-year-old Amish boy was shot in the head while plowing a field Thursday morning in Kidron. The Wayne County Sheriff's Department reports John Hershberger was struck with a .22 caliber bullet just after 9 a.m. Investigators said it's possible the stray bullet was fired by someone hunting squirrels and it just happened to come down on top of John's head.

Eau Claire, Wisconsin - According to the Eau Claire County sheriff's office: A deputy was called to a home in the 13000 block of Highway M at 12:18 p.m. Saturday, and the 54-year-old resident reported finding a bullet hole on his house. There was a hole in the screen, along with a hole the size of a half dollar in the window. Later that day, another deputy was called to the same home, where the resident reported finding a bullet hole in another window.