Two weeks ago we learned of the first group of Amish cited for not adhering to the new Ohio buggy light law. And now, a second unsurprising report from another part of the state. Amish in two other Ohio counties have been cited for failure to comply with the law: ST. CLAIRSVILLE — A new law requiring Amish buggies and other animal-drawn vehicles to be…
There’s nothing surprising about this. Well, maybe it is surprising to Representatives Scott Wiggam and Darrell Kick, creators of the new law requiring flashing lights on all horse-drawn vehicles in the state of Ohio. But if they had bothered to actually dig deep into this issue regarding the group it would predictably most effect (Swartzentruber Amish), it might not be so surprising. My suspicion is…
There’s a dispute ongoing between two raw pet food companies with ties to one another. Answers is the name of the established company; Amish farmers in PA have supplied it with raw materials for its foods for years. Kure is the upstart brand founded by some of those same Amish suppliers last year. Apparently two sisters who worked for Answers left the company and began…
A Lancaster County Amish farmer faces hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines and potential jail time for repeated violations of food safety laws. Miller’s Organic Farm, owned by an Amos Miller in Bird-in-Hand, has been described as “tangling with federal authorities for several years over its food handling practices” in this report by Fox43: U.S. District Judge Edward G. Smith, Jr. found Amos Miller…
Lizzy Hershberger lives in the same community as the Fillmore County, Minnesota Amish group who won an appeal case at the Supreme Court last week. She is concerned over wastewater leaking into the ground in her area. Hershberger said that she was “devastated that this is the outcome.” This caught my attention as I believe this is the first opposition – or at least strong…
The Amish plaintiffs appealed this case to the Supreme Court back in March (if you’re new to this story, here’s a summary of the issue, and some further explanation shared with us by expert witness Karen Johnson-Weiner). At the time, it was unclear whether it would even be heard. And it seemed unlikely, as the Supreme Court only hears 100 to 150 of the roughly…
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 an article at wane.com: The Adams County Regional Sewer District…
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 Swartzentruber, Menno Mast, Amos Mast and Sam Miller ask the…
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% did not vaccinate their children, compared to only 14% that…
Amish have been regularly faulted for failing to follow COVID regulations – going back to early on in the pandemic experience. Now, a public health body in Canada says local Plain groups are in fact complying with COVID regulations regarding church gatherings. This, despite apparent complaints from non-Plain neighbors. Farming in an Ontario Old Order Mennonite community Grey Bruce Health Unit has just issued a…