By SANDRA K. REABUCK
EBENSBURG — Judge Norman Krumenacker on Friday ordered two Amish families to leave their homes by 10 a.m. Monday or face eviction because they have not complied with sewage and building code regulations.
Sheriff’s deputies will padlock the houses and any barns or outbuildings on the properties, Krumenacker said.
The padlocks will remain in place until the properties are brought into compliance, the judge ordered.
The couples are Joely and Mary Swartzentruver, who live along Amadei Road in Barr Township with their three children ranging in age from 10 months to 3 years old, and John and Susan Miller, who live along Duman Road in Blacklick Township with their 5-year-old son.
They are members of the ultraconservative Swartzentruver sect, which shuns modern conveniences.
The members dress in dark clothing and travel by horse and buggy.
About 40 sect members attended the court hearing on Friday. They appeared to be stunned by the judge’s order to evict the families.
Although sect members have contended that the regulations infringe on their First Amendment right to freedom of religion, the judge and the sewage and building codes enforcement agencies have said it is a public health issue.
In March, Krumenacker jailed sect member Andy Swartzentruver for 90 days after holding him in contempt for failing to bring two outhouses into compliance at an Amish school in Barr Township. Andy Swartzentruver owns the school property.
He is to be released by June 14.
The school was padlocked, and students reportedly are being home-schooled.
At Friday’s hearing, the judge held the couples in contempt of court for failing to bring the properties into compliance within the 60 days he gave them in January. Two agency officials testified that there was no evidence that the order has been met.
The two husbands conferred for about 10 minutes with the sect’s elders, who were in the courtroom. Afterward, they called no witnesses, only telling the judge that they wanted “to stand by our religion, our church.”
Afterward, Joely Swartzentruver expressed puzzlement at the judge’s ruling, saying that his house had been built according to an “Amish blueprint” that includes “sealed (sewage) tanks that we make ourselves.”
He said, “We hoped to settle here and have freedom.”
He and the Millers said they were unsure what they will do.
“I try to leave everything to God. I try to think God will lead me where we should be,” Susan Miller said.
The sewage and building codes agencies had filed the civil actions against the couples Sept. 26, seeking compliance with state and municipal regulations.
After Friday’s hearing, William Barbin, solicitor for the two agencies, said, “This is a good decision. First of all, he didn’t sent them to jail. He (the judge) is particularly concerned about the sewage and that no additional sewage be spread (in the fields).”
Under federal and state laws, “a state must bend rules to accommodate religious beliefs unless those beliefs undermine society, and here it is a health and safety issue,” Barbin said.
The Amish no longer have an attorney to represent them.
Their attorney, James Stratton, withdrew in early April.
