Ebensburg, USA - Two conservative Amish families will be evicted from their homes Monday after failing to comply with a judge's order.
Judge Norman A. Krumenacker told John Miller of Barr Township and Joely A. Swartzentruber of Blacklick Township that sheriff deputies will padlock their homes Monday morning and remove anyone still there, if necessary, because the families ignored an order to get their properties' sewage systems up to code.
In a contempt hearing Friday, the judge gave the families three days to remove any belongings they might need. He said the locks won't come off until the homes are in compliance with sewage code.
"You have until Monday at 10 a.m. to remove anything you want from your homes and barns. I'm giving you a couple days - and that's it," Krumenacker told them.
The order came down after months of hearings and attempts by the court to work out a less-intrusive compromise between sewage enforcement and the Swartzentruber Amish, a sect that stands by its old-order ways and shuns modern amenities.
Krumenacker toured one property last year. After talking with sect elders, he said the families had to get in compliance but could use simple methods, including adding lime to their waste, storing it in a concrete tank and then putting it on their crops after testing it.
But the Amish did not make the changes, and Cambria Sewage Enforcement Director Deb Sedlmeyer said Friday that recent inspections showed no changes were made this month while the families continued to live in their homes.
The Amish sect has stuck by its beliefs, saying the methods aren't in line with the way its ancestors did things.
Swartzentruber repeated that belief before Krumenacker in court Friday after he and Miller met quietly with elders in court. Nearly 40 members of the group packed the courtroom.
They did not have an attorney.
Afterward, enforcement officials said they were pleased by the judge's decision, noting they want to see the issues corrected but didn't want to see anyone else jailed over it.
One sect member, Andy Swartzentruber, was jailed for 90 days for being in contempt of court for failing to bring the group's schoolhouse in compliance. He started serving the time in mid-March.
Attorney William Barbin, solicitor for the sewage enforcement group, said Krumenacker's latest move was "justified." He hoped the decision would be enough to fix those issues.
"It's a health hazard and the state has a right to deal with these types of issues when they [impact] public health," Barbin said.