Amish Controversies

Adams County, Indiana wants to build a municipal sewer system in a certain area of the county. And it wants Amish living in that area to “get with the program” and connect to the electrically-powered system. The Amish side attempted to reach a compromise first but were denied. Here’s the gist of the problem from […]

Continue Reading Adams County: Amish Must Connect To Sewer System. Amish Respond With Lawsuit

Four Amishmen have asked the highest court in the land to consider their case, in a long-running dispute over “gray water” disposal. Attorney Brian Lipford filed the petition on behalf of Amish members of a Minnesota Swartzentruber community. Via the Rochester Post-Bulletin: In a petition filed on Jan. 20, 2021, by attorney Brian Lipford, Ammon […]

Continue Reading Amish Ask Supreme Court To Hear “Gray Water” Case

Justo Smoker’s preliminary hearing was held Friday, to determine if the homicide case against him would go to trial. After an hour-and-twenty minute hearing, District Judge Denise Commins ruled that prosecutors had met the burden to proceed. They needed to provide sufficient evidence that a crime was committed in the case of Linda Stoltzfoos’ disappearance […]

Continue Reading Justo Smoker Will Stand Trial For Homicide In Linda Stoltzfoos Case; Arraignment March 26th

A new study with COVID implications suggests that acceptance of vaccines by Amish in one of the largest communities (Holmes County) has plummeted in the past 10 years. It also finds that Amish would refuse COVID vaccination at a rate of almost 10-to-1. The key findings: The response rate was 39%. Among 391 respondents, 59% […]

Continue Reading Study: 75% Of Amish Would Reject COVID-19 Vaccine

Spence’s Bazaar is a flea market/farmer’s market in Dover, Delaware. The market has a significant Amish presence including some popular food outlets. This is a nice account of the place, which has an 85+ year history. Image: Spence’s Bazaar Delaware State News now reports that they have been shut down temporarily, and you get one […]

Continue Reading Delaware Market Shut Down; Amish Faulted

From Cleveland.com: COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio House on Tuesday passed a bill that would require flashing lights on the backs of Amish buggies, a move meant to cut down on dangerous crashes. House Bill 501 is now headed to the Ohio Senate for approval after clearing the House with a 74-10 vote. It would […]

Continue Reading Ohio Congressmen Push Bill Requiring Flashing Buggy Lights. What About Swartzentruber Amish?

Do the Amish get an unfair share of finger-pointing for their collective or individual behavior as regards COVID-19? Holmes County officials have formed a “defense team” to address different COVID-related topics, some of them regarding PR. First, what’s the team all about? Addressing statewide media queries, quarantine guidelines after exposure and updates for local status […]

Continue Reading Holmes County Forms Covid-19 “Defense Team”; Push Back Against “Amish-Blaming”

The Amish are in the news again, this time as a backdrop to a speech given by President Trump in Lititz, Pennsylvania yesterday. You can see several young Amish-looking fellows in this clip below. This has gotten some strong reaction online, with multiple people claiming they are “fake Amish” or even “paid actors”. Jump to […]

Continue Reading Are These “Fake Amish”? (Updated: Not Fake)

This is a follow-up to the Missouri abuse case story widely covered last month. From KY3: MARSHFIELD, Mo. (KY3) – A Webster County judge Thursday sent two Amish brothers for prison for violating terms of their probation. Petie and Aaron Schartz of Seymour, Mo. will spend 15 years in prison for their sexual abuse convictions. […]

Continue Reading Amish Brothers Violate Probation, Sentenced To 15 Years Prison In Abuse Case

An Amish friend who saw the title of the post last week had this to say: “Plain Parade – what an oxymoron”. I think that is an astute observation. The quotation marks were meant to suggest the term be taken with a grain of salt. Especially, as noted in the original post, since the actual […]

Continue Reading A Follow-Up On The “Plain Parade”