Life in the slow lane often dangerous for Amish

: "Life in the slow lane often dangerous for Amish
By PAULA REED WARD and CINDI LASH
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
April 17, 2005
- When Lovine Yoder and her family have to travel at night, she makes sure that the single kerosene lantern that hangs from her driver's side door is clean and bright, especially since it's the only way they can be seen.
Yoder is part of the Swartzentruber sect of Old Order Amish, an ultraconservative sect that fought and won a battle against Pennsylvania's requirement that all buggies be marked with a reflective red triangle on the back to make them more visible to passing motorists.
But even those safety markings are not always enough to prevent collisions with 'English' drivers, as outsiders are known.
Just Tuesday, two separate crashes occurred in Pennsylvania's Somerset County involving horse-drawn carriages. In the first, the driver of a buggy fell off when a horse bolted after being frightened by a passing vehicle. In the second, 10 Amish people were injured when their buggy was hit from behind by a motorist believed to have been speeding.
Both accidents occurred in broad daylight - so the safety measures of markings and lights weren't even a factor. When they should be, though, some say they don't always work.
Buggies with headlights and taillights often end up looking like other cars on the road, Yoder said.
'They don't realize it's slow-moving until they're right on it,' she said of the English drivers. That can lead to buggies being struck in the rear by motor vehicles that can't stop in time.
In Pennsylvania in 2003, the most recent year for which statistics were available, there were 55 crashes involving horse-drawn buggies, said Steve Chizmar, spokesman for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. One person was killed and "

NewsMakers

NewsMakers: "Amish Furniture Haus
Tim and Shelby Huchthausen

4/15/2005
by Chuck Watson


Tim and Shelby Huchthausen turned a personal furniture experience into their own retailing venture.
�Amish furniture is a long-term investment,� said Tim Huchthausen who, with his wife Shelby, owns Amish Furniture Haus at 2104 W. Superior St in Duluth�s Lincoln Park.
�We love the furniture. My parents started buying it when we were engaged. I was always impressed by the solid wood construction,� he said.
Shelby is from Superior and Tim was raised in a farming community outside of Verona in southern Wisconsin, closer to the Amish communities and hardwood country. Since opening in June, 2004, the Huchthausens have seen steady growth in sales and inventory at their 3,000 square-foot showroom and 3,500 square-foot warehouse. They anticipate major growth in 2005.
Before opening Amish Furniture Haus, Huchthausen was a union laborer and then a technician and product development coordinator for ARCO Coffee. The Twin Ports couple has three young children.
�There�s definitely a unique market here in west Duluth,� he said. The Hucht-hausens chose the current location based on geography, visibility and rent.
The Amish procure their red and white oak, maple and cherry from Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylva-nia. All furniture, beds, dining chairs recliners, tables, office furniture, china cabinets and children�s port-o-potties are constructed by Amish communities in the southern Rust Belt.
They can build any style, including antique reproductions, and that keeps the inventory unique. �All external panels are solid through and through,� no particle board or medium density fiberboard, Huchthausen said. Only a few pieces have plywood backs.
The Amish work in verbal"

eTruth.com -- The Truth Online Edition!

eTruth.com -- The Truth Online Edition!: "To close or not to close
Public meeting explores fate of elementary school
Published: Friday, April 15, 2005 -- The Truth, A1
Last updated: 4/14/2005 11:34:46 PM
By Stephanie Price
Truth Staff


Future uncertain
Flags fly in front of Middlebury Elementary School Thursday. The future of the facility, which was built in 1939, is uncertain as proposals for the corporation�s building projects are being considered.
View additional photos
Photo: Jennifer Shephard / The Truth

MIDDLEBURY -- Discussion Tuesday night about the Middlebury Community Schools building project lasted well more than three hours.
And there were some tears.
'I'm passionate about Middlebury Elementary School,' said Chris Kauffman of C.R. 43. 'I'd hate to see it close,' she said, crying. 'I think it could be a huge mistake.'
Her comments were followed by applause.
Nearly 120 people came to a public work session to talk and hear about the potential of closing the oldest of Middlebury Schools' six school buildings, an option on the floor as the district plans a large-scale building project.
'Just to be clear, we have not decided to close it,' said Kent Yoder, school board president. 'We're here because we need to hear from the community about it.'
The community at Tuesday's meeting at Orchard View Elementary School was heavily populated with the Middlebury Elementary's teachers and staff, a group that stood up and applauded toward the end of the meeting when board member Delores Merrick offered this barometer: 'Let me hear, by show of applause, who would rather go ahead and pay what it costs to keep this school open rather than close it and have the cost savings,' she said.
The cost savings Merrick refere"

Capital News 9 | 24 Hour Local News | HEADLINES | Rising Amish population prompts concerns

Capital News 9 | 24 Hour Local News | HEADLINES | Rising Amish population prompts concerns: "Rising Amish population prompts concerns
4/13/2005 4:52 PM
By: Capital News 9 web staff

An upstate county's growing Amish population is raising concerns over the increased presence of slow moving, horse-drawn carriages on local roads.

Officials in Montgomery County said they'll print more brochures
aimed at alerting motorists to the horse and buggies traditionally
used by Amish communities, which shun most modern amenities.

The Mohawk Valley county already has as many as 200 Amish families living in the towns of Palatine and Mohawk.
Since the start of the year, others have moved into the neighboring towns of Glen and Root.

County officials said they're concerned that local motorists may
not be accustomed to sharing the rural roads with the Amish.
The county's Traffic Safety Committee plans to reprint brochures that inform motorists that horses are unpredictable and can spook
easily.

The information suggests motorists slow down before passing the
animals and leave plenty of room.
Copyright 2005 Associated Press, All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed."

CBS 3: Man To Stand Trial In Fatal Buggy Accident

CBS 3: Man To Stand Trial In Fatal Buggy Accident: "Man To Stand Trial In Fatal Buggy Accident

Apr 9, 2005 9:31 am US/Eastern
WEST CHESTER, PA (AP) A man will stand trial in Chester County Court in connection with a fatal hit-and-run involving an Amish buggy.

Kent Matthew Breiner, 29, of Honey Brook, waived his right to a preliminary hearing Friday in front of Honey Brook District Judge Michael J. Cabry III.

Breiner, who was driving a 1999 Ford pickup owned by his employer, struck the back of a horse-drawn carriage around 9:30 p.m. Jan. 20 on Route 10 in Honey Brook, police said. The buggy was forced into a post and wire fence, killing its driver Jacob Stoltzfus Smucker, 20. The injured horse was euthanized.

Breiner faces multiple charges, including driving with a suspended license and leaving the scene of a fatal accident. Deputy District Attorney Stephen J. Kelly withdrew a misdemeanor charge of homicide by vehicle.

Breiner�s attorney, Joseph P. Green Jr., told Cabry that his client had an occupational limited license, which permits work-related driving.

After the court proceeding, William Littleton Jr., a landscaping business owner who had employed Breiner for about eight months as a mason, said Breiner had no reason to be driving the truck when the collision occurred."

The Times Leader: For the love of Amish Country - - East Liverpool Review Online

The Times Leader: For the love of Amish Country - - East Liverpool Review Online: "For the love of Amish Country
By LUCILLE HUSTON, Review Staff Writer
A visit to Amish Country in Wayne, Holmes and Tuscarawas counties has become a popular pastime for area residents.
The drive takes one and a half to two hours depending on destination, and if you want to make it a weekend trip, hotels, inns and bed and breakfast facilities abound.
Until a year ago, weekend visitors were almost completely out of luck in finding a restaurant open on Sunday. Today in Sugarcreek, a restaurant with wonderful food is available. While it is not Amish, the food is delicious.
If you are considering a visit, ask yourself, 'When was the last time you woke up to buttermilk pancakes and fresh sausage simmering on a cast-iron skillet over a wood burning stove?
Or relaxed to the soft glow of an old-fashioned oil lamp?
Or followed a schedule based on the position of the sun rather than the time on a clock?
While the Amish are considered the most conservative segment of the Anabaptist movement - which also includes Mennonites - and they remain what many of us considered 'old-fashioned,' their very lifestyle has created one of the most popular tourist attractions in the state.
The area is the largest Amish settlement in the world. You can find home-cooked meals, old-fashioned hospitality, small-town charm and unique shopping in this largely rural setting.
Lehman's Hardware in Kidron is an unbelievable store in which one can spend hours roaming through the isles.
The store is divided into sections including: housewares; stove accessories; grain mills; ice cream freezers and signs; windmill room; clothes dryers; garden tools; stove showroom, which includes one of the country's largest selection of woodstove"