A judge in Kentucky is starting to send Amish buggy drivers to jail for refusing to mark their buggies with reflective orange triangles.

Slow moving vehicles driving on public roads in Kentucky are required to mark themselves with a reflective orange sign. The amish community in Kentucky says that the signs conflict with their pledge to live a simple life.

The judge, however, says that their refusal to use the signs is causing a danger on the roads.

The Amish buggy drivers have been given fines for their traffic infractions but so far they have refused to pay them. Now Graves County District Judge Deborah Crooks is starting to hand out prison sentences.

This morning Ananias Byler was sentenced to 10 days in jail for refusing to pay the fines.

Jacob Gingerich, an Amish farmer, told the Associated Press that the Amish community will not pay the fines and they will not place the orange reflective signs on their buggies, even if it means jail time. ABC reports that there are 7 men in court today that will likely face similar 10 day prison sentences.

Kentucky lawmakers are currently considering legislation that would exempt Amish buggies from the traffic rule. One solution would have Amish drivers use silver reflective tape instead of the bright orange signs.

What do you think about the Amish buggy controversy?

Amish Buggy Drivers Face Jail Time for Ignoring Traffic Laws is a post from: The Inquisitr

FBI agents on Friday arrested seven people who they suspect took part in an Amish haircutting attack ring. According to reports the group worked for breakaway Amish sect leader Sam Mullet.

Among those arrested were Sam Mullet, four of his family members and two other followers. All seven people arrested in the FBI raid were found hold up in a compound in Bergholz.

Because cutting their beards and hair is considered a major offense in the Amish community the attacks are being investigated as hate crimes. The bible instructs men and women to let their hair grow, something that is taken very seriously by Amish leaders and their followers.

If convicted of a hate crime each person involved could face up to 10 years in prison.

According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette it’s believed that the hair-cutting attacks were in response to Mullet’s excommunication from the community by Amish leaders who viewed the sexual conduct at his church as a threat to their way of life.

According to Sam Mullet he “didn’t order anything like” the hair-cutting, however he also says “I didn’t tell them not to.”

Do you think hair cutting attacks should be counted as a hate crime? I’m honestly surprised that the closely guarded Amish community actually brought in FBI officials to help them.

7 People Arrested By FBI After Amish Haircutting Attacks is a post from: The Inquisitr

Lewis D. Hostetler, a 17-year-old Amish teenager in Cattaraugus County took police on a buggy chase at 1 a.m. on Monday while holding an open can of beer in his hand.

According to officers the teenager was traveling down Route 62 when police noticed that he was drinking an alcoholic beverage, as would be expected in a car versus buggy chase the pursuit ended quickly.

Police charged Hostetler with resisting arrest, second-degree obstruction of governmental administration, unlawful possession of an alcoholic beverage with intent to consume by a person under 21-years-old, failure to yield to an emergency, highway littering and insufficient tail lamps for his buggy.

The Amish teen will face charges at a later date and was arraigned with $500 bail.

Amish Teen Takes Police On A Buggy Chase is a post from: The Inquisitr

When we think of the goods times and going on spending sprees buying things we might not really need the last thing we would think of is the Amish doing the same thing. Well think again because according to a post on the Wall Street Journal Online the Amish men of northern Indiana enjoyed the economic surpluses of the early 2000’s just as we did.

Some Amish bishops in Indiana weakened restrictions on the use of telephones. Fax machines became commonplace in Amish-owned businesses. Web sites marketing Amish furniture began to crop up. Although the sites were run by non-Amish third parties, they nevertheless intensified a feeling of competition, says Casper Hochstetler, a 70-year-old Amish bishop who lives in Shipshewana.

"People wanted bigger weddings, newer carriages," Mr. Lehman says. "They were buying things they didn’t need." Mr. Lehman spent several hundred dollars on a model-train and truck hobby, and about $4,000 on annual family vacations, he says. This year, there will be no vacation.

Source: Douglas Belkin – Wall Street Journal :: A Bank Run Teaches the ‘Plain People’ About the Risks of Modernity

Just as with us in the more ‘modern’ world it all came crashing down for the Amish as men who had earned anywhere from $50.00 to $30.00 per hour in various industries found themselves out of work. During the high times even the most treasured traditions of ‘helping thy neighbor’ seem to go by the wayside as the cash rich Amish hired outside companies to do work for them so that they wouldn’t have to repay in kind. Now that the hard times are here though there has been a slow return to their traditional values.

In Indiana, a back-to-basics movement appears to be taking root. More patches of produce have sprouted behind Amish homes this summer. Restaurants are entertaining fewer Amish customers. Mr. Lehman says neighbors "are more considerate of each other now."

Some men have started their own businesses close to home. Mr. Lehman makes mattresses in his workshop. Harlan Miller, a 34-year-old father of five who was laid off in February, started making fruit butter, which he sells at a local market. Freeman Miller (no relation), 54, who was laid off after 30 years in manufacturing, builds wooden caskets for pets.

Source: Douglas Belkin – Wall Street Journal :: A Bank Run Teaches the ‘Plain People’ About the Risks of Modernity

It’s amazing how the power of money can easily corrupt even a faith and community like the Amish.

Not even the Amish are immune to hardship is a post from: The Inquisitr