Lycoming County, PA’s Washington Township wants local Amish buggies and their horses to change – in a pretty big way. From Pennlive.com: ELIMSPORT – “Blatant discrimination” is what an attorney for Old Order Amish says about proposed ordinances in a rural Lycoming County township that would require horses on public roads to wear a device to collect feces and to have rubber horseshoes. A third…
It seems the most contentious issue with Amish moving into Lancaster County towns and subdivisions has to do with housing horses. Amish have been seeking allowances to keep horses on smaller-than-normally-permitted properties. Who among the Amish wants to live in a suburban or “in-town” home? These may be young families, or older retired couples, who have downsized from the farm, but still need to keep…
The four Swartzentruber Amish plaintiffs who filed a lawsuit against the state of Minnesota over gray water disposal ended up losing their case in a ruling delivered in April. If you missed it, here’s a summary of the case/events, and our original post on the matter. Brian Lipford, the attorney for the Amishmen, has since asked for a new trial (article no longer online) along with…
It appears that the Lancaster County area will see a second controversial development come to fruition. Following the newly-approved satellite casino in Morgantown (technically in Berks County, on the edge of Lancaster’s Amish region), the Oregon Village housing development has been approved on a 3-2 vote by the Manheim Township Board of Commissioners. The development will bring over 500 new residential units to the rural…
Looks like gambling will be coming to the doorstep of Lancaster County’s Amish region after all. Despite protests from residents, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board voted yesterday, unanimously, to approve a new casino project: Pennsylvania regulators on Wednesday approved Penn National Gaming’s proposed satellite casino in Berks County to attract gamblers from Philadelphia’s growing western suburbs, the first of five so-called mini-casinos licensed under a…
An intoxicated driver rear-ended an Amish carriage Friday, taking three young lives: A fatal Friday collision involving an allegedly drunk truck driver and a horse-drawn buggy killed three children, said Michigan State Police. The Algansee Township crash, in which the pickup truck driver drove into the back of an Amish buggy, threw seven passengers — five children and two adults — from the carriage. MSP trooper…
From the Portland Press Herald: AUGUSTA — Operators of horse-drawn buggies in Maine will be required to outfit their carriages with reflectors and lights due to a new law in the state. The proposal is designed to improve safety on the roads in Amish communities in the state, and Democratic Gov. Janet Mills signed it into law on Thursday. The new law states that it…
A community of conservative Amish in upstate New York (St. Lawrence County) have canceled a meeting with county officials to discuss adding additional safety reflectors to their buggies. Officials want the Amish to add strips of white reflective tape in two places on the buggy. Here is what the tape on the wheel spokes would look like: The “flash” such a strip would create as…
The US is currently experiencing a measles outbreak, the largest in 25 years. The Center for Disease Control reports a confirmed 764 cases in 23 states as of a week ago. This includes New York and most surrounding states. States in dark blue in this CDC map have reported cases: The source of the measles is travelers returning from countries where large outbreaks are currently…
An Amish boy in Highland County, Ohio was diagnosed with Hepatitis A on March 21. Due to the close-knit nature of Amish communities, and their overall lower vaccination rates, this posed a particular threat. But swift action by health department officials, and cooperation by the Amish community seems to have stopped a potential outbreak. From the Hillsboro Times-Gazette: Warner said health department nurses met with…