Local News
New complaint lodged against Amish
EBENSBURG — Even as one Amishman left jail for sewage violations at an Amish school property in Cambria County, a new complaint has been received about improper sewage disposal on another property of one of the members of an ultraconservative Amish sect that shuns modern ways.
Meanwhile, the Amish school in Barr Township and two homes owned by members of the sect – one in Barr and another in Blacklick Township – and their outhouses continued to be padlocked under orders of Judge Norman Krumenacker.
Krumenacker has ruled that the improper sewage disposal is a health hazard.
He said that the padlocks would remain in place until the properties are brought into compliance.
On Sunday, Andy Swartz-entruber, the owner of the property on which the schoolhouse is situated, was released from the Cambria County Prison after completing a 90-day sentence. Krumenacker ordered the jail term in March after the sect failed to bring the school outhouses into compliance with sewage regulations.
Even though the Amish – members of the Swartzentruber sect – had made some improvements, they failed to satisfy municipal requirements.
That also was the situation with two Amish families – Joely and Mary Swartzentruber of Barr Township and John and Susan Miller of Blacklick Township. In May, Krumenacker ordered that the couples and their children be evicted from their homes and their properties padlocked. They reportedly were to live with other family members.
Now the county sewage enforcement agency has received a new complaint about alleged improper disposal at another Barr Township property reportedly owned by a member of the Swartzentruber sect, agency Solicitor William Barbin reported Monday.
The complaint was received from a neighbor of the Barr Township property, Barbin said.
“We’ll investigate the complaint, and if there are violations, the property owner will be notified,” he said.
As was the case with the other property owners, the residents will be given an opportunity to bring the property into compliance before legal action is taken, Barbin said. He declined to reveal the name of the property owner until after the complaint is investigated.
The case against Andy Swartz-entruber started as a summary criminal offense before District Judge Michael Zungali. It eventually got appealed to county court.
The cases against the Millers and the Joely Swartzentruber family started as civil actions in county court filed by the sewage enforcement agency and the county building codes enforcement agency.
The Amish do not have telephones and could not be reached for comment. They apparently have no legal representation.
An Ebensburg attorney who had represented them was given permission by the judge on
April 6 to withdraw as legal counsel. The deadline for an appeal of Krumenacker’s May 8 eviction order to the two families has since passed with no action taken.
- Local News
-
-
NEW - Dinner raises $1.2 million for Murtha foundation
More than 300 lawmakers, military officials and business leaders gathered Wednesday night to pay tribute to the memory of the late John P. Murtha.
The event – “A Night To Remember and Celebrate” – raised $1.2 million for the John P. Murtha Foundation and the John P. Murtha Center for Public Service, to be developed on the Pitt-Johnstown campus. -
Helper guilty of fraud
A Cambria County jury took only an hour Wednesday to find a part-time handyman/caregiver guilty on all counts for misappropriating $668,518 from 2000 to early 2008 from an elderly woman who thought of him like a son.
-
Youth freed in stabbing
A 15-year-old boy accused of stabbing another youth in a dispute over money was expected to be released from jail Wednesday, and the case likely will be heard in juvenile court.
-
Health reform is here to stay, government official declares
Health-care reform is not going anywhere, a regional director of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services told a lunchtime business meeting Wednesday.
-
Officer charged with assault to be assessed
A Windber police corporal suspended after he was accused of assaulting a woman will be assessed by a batterers intervention group, authorities said.
-
Camp PARC offers fantasy, adventure
Camp PARC counselors and campers joined together to play instruments and sing songs Wednesday, embodying the emotion behind the camp with the song lyrics: “It starts in the heart.”
-
In brief: Free dinner planned at Windber church
A free community dinner will be served from 3 to 5:30 p.m. Saturday at Windber Calvary United Methodist Church, 1800 Stockholm Ave.
-
Critz seeks attendance at ARMTech showcase
U.S. Rep. Mark Critz, D-Johnstown, is urging western Pennsylvania businesses to participate in the 12th annual ARMTech Showcase of Industry and Technology that will be held Aug. 18-20 in Kittanning, Armstrong County.
- UPDATE Jury begins deliberations in Solensky trial
- District Deaths July 29, 2010
- More Local News Headlines
-
NEW - Dinner raises $1.2 million for Murtha foundation
