EBENSBURG -- A pair of Amish families have been evicted from their homes for failing to follow a judge's order to get their properties' sewage systems into compliance.
In a contempt hearing Friday, Judge Norman A. Krumenacker ordered the family homes of John Miller and Joely Swartzentruber be padlocked at 10 a.m. Monday, and that anyone in the home at the time be removed by sheriffs deputies if necessary.
Krumenacker gave the families three days to remove any belonging they might need from the homes -- Miller's in Barr Township and Swartzentruber's in Black Lick -- but said the locks won't come off until the homes are in compliance with sewage code.
The issues stem from inspections last year that showed the sites were being built without proper permits and without sanitary sewage treatment and disposal methods in place -- something Krumenacker tried to hammer out in previous hearings with the groups.
The Amish stood by their convictions then and today when the order was delivered, saying such upgrades were against their religious beliefs.
Mirror reporters are working on a story for Saturday's paper.
