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Narvon, Pennsylvania - A horse and buggy ran away with no driver, eventually flipping onto its side Wednesday morning with three young children inside the carriage. Caernarvon Fire Company Deputy Chief Lennie Martin said the children, ranging in age from 2 months to 5 years old, suffered only minor injuries.

As a young Amish girl in Bowling Green, Missouri, I had the joys of living on a farm and learning to work hard. I learned how to do many things at a very young age… ...Milking cows, hanging out the laundry, hoeing the garden, caring for chickens, and walking to school… these were some of the things I did, and even enjoyed. We had no running water, no electricity, and we used “horse and buggy” for transportation. I must say I enjoyed a good life, in that respect. However, there was one subject that always concerned me. I remember looking up into the sky, and knowing that someday I would die.

Clare County, MI - Five members of an Amish family that suffered serious injuries when the buggy they were in was struck by a vehicle Sunday remain in critical condition.

My name is Benjamin Beachy, and I was born and raised in an Old Order Amish community. Growing up, I loved to train horses and play volleyball, and I appreciated that I was taught the value of working hard. I knew about Christ at a very young age. I remember thinking that if He died on the cross for us, why did we have to do all this other stuff? Why did we have to follow all these lists of rules? If we still had to work our way into heaven, did He not die in vain? I had a Christian non-Amish family that pretty much adopted me since I was about twelve years old, and they would talk about Jesus. They will never know how much they impacted me.

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Preston, Minnesota - A trial date has been set for a Fillmore County Amish couple who said their beliefs were violated. During a pre-trial hearing for Ammon and Sarah Swartzentruber on Wednesday, a judge went over conditions for the trial scheduled January 8 in Fillmore County District Court.

Dear Amish Voice: You have some good literature, but one thing I would like to point out is: You sound too sure of the salvation part. “Once saved always saved” is not Biblical. Yes, we hope (hofnung) we’ll get to Heaven, but we need to not be too sure (that is, God needs to judge and decide). As the Bible says, Many will say Herr, Herr (Lord, Lord) and will be disappointed when the Lord says, “Depart from me for I never knew you.” Some people will think they are serving the Lord, but are serving self more than they even realize.

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Cleveland, Ohio – A federal judge today scheduled a hearing for Feb. 24 to resentence Amish bishop Sam Mullet and 15 followers who were convicted in 2012 for hate crimes in connection with a series of beard- and hair-cutting attacks. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the convictions of Mullet and his breakaway Amish group from Jefferson County, which could have allowed prosecutors to retry the case.

Fairchild, Wisconsin - Piles of horse manure dotting the winding roads of eastern Eau Claire County, evidence of the community’s Amish population, have gotten to be too much for Doug Farmer and some other town of Fairchild residents. Farmer said the number of horse droppings along town roads has grown and is not only a messy eyesore but poses dangers to bicycle riders and motorized vehicle drivers.

Columbus, Ohio - A federal appeals court in Ohio has declined to hold a hearing by the full court on overturned hate crimes convictions involving beard- and hair-cutting attacks targeting Amish. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati on Thursday notified prosecutors and attorneys in the case that it has denied the federal government’s request for a hearing before the full court on a three-judge panel’s decision. The panel split 2-1 in August in favor of throwing out the hate crime convictions.

Fillmmore County, Minnesota - An Amish couple from southeastern Minnesota will try next month to settle their zoning law dispute with Fillmore County. Ammon J. and Sarah J. Swartzentruber of Harmony have been cited for failing to get a permit for the home they're building. The couple refused because they say it meant they would have to install a septic system, a modern convenience not permitted by their religious beliefs. The couple appeared at a hearing Wednesday to answer to three misdemeanor charges. Both have pleaded not guilty.

Salisbury Township, Pennsylvania - Police allege a Philadelphia trucker caused a crash last year in Salisbury Township that killed a young Amish woman. Levi F. Graham, 52, is charged with vehicular homicide regarding the Nov. 3, 2013, crash on Route 30 near Hoover Road, court documents show. Barbara King, 21, died a day after the nighttime crash.

Third-world people groups aren’t the only ones that need God’s Word. As Hank and Ruth Hershberger of Wycliffe Bible Translators USA can attest, the Amish need Scripture, too. Hank says he became aware of this fact while serving the Lord in Australia. The Hershbergers spent a quarter-century in the Land Down Under with Wycliffe USA, translating the New Testament for the Gugu-Yalanji Aboriginal people. “The Lord seemed to tell me, ‘Your own folks don’t have the Scriptures in their own language.’ And more and more, I was convicted that following our translation work in Australia, we should come home and do a translation in my own language,” he states.

Third-world people groups aren’t the only ones that need God’s Word. As Hank and Ruth Hershberger of Wycliffe Bible Translators USA can attest, the Amish need Scripture, too. Hank says he became aware of this fact while serving the Lord in Australia. The Hershbergers spent a quarter-century in the Land Down Under with Wycliffe USA, translating the New Testament for the Gugu-Yalanji Aboriginal people. “The Lord seemed to tell me, ‘Your own folks don’t have the Scriptures in their own language.’ And more and more, I was convicted that following our translation work in Australia, we should come home and do a translation in my own language,” he states.

Lancaster, Pennsylvania - Calling the crime a "straight-up fraud," a federal judge Wednesday sentenced a midstate man to 37 months in prison for a $1.65 million investment scam that targeted the Amish and Mennonite communities. U.S. Middle District Chief Judge Christopher C. Conner imposed that penalty after Christopher Burhans begged for a sentence of house arrest.

Lower Chanceford Township - A fatal crash Monday afternoon in Lower Chanceford Township led to the deaths of four family members, officials with the York County coroner's office announced. The crash killed Emmanuel Esh, 73, and Melvin Esh, 66, as well as Elizabeth Esh, 22, and her unborn child. The child was stillborn at York Hospital following the crash. Elizabeth Esh, who had an address listed in the Brogue area, was pronounced dead there at 4:12 a.m. Tuesday, officials said.

Richland Center, Wisconsin - Five years ago, Marlin Yoder’s idea of fast was a horse and buggy. Now, he dreams of turning laps at 200 mph. The sport he discovered on a smuggled radio he hid under his mattress has set him on fire. In the years since leaving his Amish family, he’s honed his skills on the go-kart tracks where racers like Danica Patrick got their start, winning himself a shelf full of trophies. But he aspires to something bigger.

Ervin Byler, Salida, retired from a 20-year career in the U.S. Navy at the rank of senior chief petty officer. For a young Amish boy, the Navy provided a way to see the world. Born in Dover, Del., in 1941, he moved to Kentucky at age 17. “I thought there was more to life than viewing horses’ behinds, so I decided to join the Navy,” he said.

Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania - Ironically, the first group convicted for religiously motivated violence under the U.S. Hate Crime Prevention Act was Amish. Or claimed to be. “This is a sad, sad bizarre story,” Amish scholar Donald Kraybill told hundreds of listeners who gathered Oct. 21 at Elizabethtown College. “While the ‘good Amish’ in Nickel Mines readily forgave the shooter and his family, the ‘bad Amish’ of Bergholz showered vengeance on their own people,” writes Kraybill in his new book, Renegade Amish.

Lancaster County, Pennsylvania - Police are investigating bizarre incidents reported at Amish homes in eastern Lancaster County. In at least two cases since late July, a man entered a home and touched young females as they slept. The man spoke to the females, then fled the homes. Two members of the community said they heard of at least two additional similar incidents that might not have been reported.

Strasburg, Pennsylvania - People in Amish communities do not drive cars. They drive horses and buggies. They do not use electric lights. They use gas lamps and candles. Even though they live in communities all over the United States, they do not marry outsiders. Along with the Mennonites, Amish Americans have been living a traditional way of life for centuries.

​Geauga County, Ohio - A teen who drove the car used to commit organized attacks on the Amish was sentenced Oct. 27 to 8 1/2 years in prison in Geauga County Common Pleas Court. Chase Kontur, 19, whose last known address was in Middlefield Township, previously admitted helping attack the Amish for money because he thought they were easy targets and would not report the crime. “I regret what I did,” Kontur said. “I want to get out and get a fresh start and work for a living.”

Lancaster County, Pennsylvania - Nothing says “Lancaster County” in Pennsylvania like the sight and sound of a lathered horse pulling a square, black buggy down the road. The county undoubtedly has more of the horse-powered vehicles than any other in Pennsylvania, based on population data. And while that means Lancaster County is the place to go to witness Plain Sect life, it also means emergency responders here have to pick up the pieces from more buggy crashes than any other county in the state. A lot more.

Lancaster, Pennsylvania - A Pennsylvania man who pleaded guilty in a drive-by shooting that killed a horse pulling a buggy with an Amish family inside in Lancaster County has been sentenced to one to two years behind bars. Last November, Timothy Diggs Jr. apologized for his behavior and attributed it to cough medicine abuse. LNP newspapers reports that the 21-year-old from Ronks, Pa. pleaded guilty to cruelty to animals and reckless endangerment and also entered pleas in several unrelated cases.

Lancaster, Pennsylvania - Merlin Miller, the eccentric leader of the Ohio Amish community on TV's “Amish Mafia,” appeared Friday at Lancaster Newspapers’ door in an attempt to collar the governor for a few private words. Miller is the nemesis of Lebanon Levi, self-proclaimed leader of the local Amish community, on the series. Gov. Tom Corbett, who was at LNP on Friday for a meeting with the editorial board, signed a petition in August supporting RespectAmish.org, a movement to halt erroneous and damaging portrayals of the Amish community on screen.

Wilmington Township, Pennsylvania - An Amish school in northern Lawrence County was put on lockdown last week when a man behaving in an unusual manner trespassed into the schoolyard. State police said that a white man parked his truck outside Shepard School’s front gate at about 1 p.m. Oct. 3. The school, along Route 208 in Wilmington Township, is a private Amish education facility. The man reportedly sat in his truck for more than 15 minutes watching the children playing outside and then walked into the schoolyard and entered an outhouse on the property, where he remained for about 10 minutes.

Algansee Township, Michigan - After two years of meetings, misunderstandings and legal wrangling, the Amish community in Algansee Township have opened a fourth school in the 500 block of Colvin Road. Monday night the township board approved a special use permit to allow the school to operate on a 4-acre parcel split from Henry Eicher’s property at 588 Colvin Road. It also allowed for a split driveway of 20 instead of 40 feet to the school and reduced required setbacks for existing buildings from 20 to 17 feet following the Sept. 29 recommendation from the board's planning commission.

New Holstein, Wisconsin - Though it has been decided that selling unpasteurized dairy products in Wisconsin is illegal, advocates for raw milk would like to know what the state's Supreme Court has to say about the public's rights to consume it. A group called Food Freedom USA has reported that petitions for review have been filed with the court in three separate cases involving the legality and constitutionality of farmers that wish to establish contracts with private individuals who want to obtain such products.

Tyre, New York - Ever since they settled in this tiny farm town along the New York State Thruway more than a decade ago, the Amish have been a benign, generally welcome presence: guiding their buggies down local roads, delivering fresh produce to their neighbors and paying their taxes — though they do not vote. But the possibility that a glittering casino could be built here, halfway between Syracuse and Rochester, has torn at the bonds that knit together the area’s Amish and secular residents.

Cave City, Kentucky - Billy Minton often jokes with the Amish employees at Bi-Rite grocery in Cave City, with whom he's developed a good rapport since he began driving them to and from work about a year ago. Minton retired as Cave City's police chief about two years ago, but found he was uninterested in staying at home and doing nothing. He then heard about the driving job - which he calls "a blessing" - through the grapevine. "I had actually started out driving for another gentleman who owned the van," Minton said. "I drove for him for a while and he had to downsize just a little bit, so what I done was buy my own van and came down and talked to the owner here."

Jumping the fence from the other side ... I can't tell you how many letters, phone calls and e-mails I receive from people inquiring about how they can become Amish. The number has to be in the hundreds, I'm sure. Most of these folks have done some research about the Amish lifestyle and admire the simplistic qualities by which the Amish live. Although I'm sure some are totally sincere, I often get the feeling many of these people are inquiring because they are looking for a "quick fix" to their hectic, over-materialistic, fed-up-with-the-way-things-are lives.