TWO AMISH MEN ENTER THEIR PLEAS IN DRUG CASE

Modern society with all its ills may have finally caught up with the
community, invading its simple ways.

Philadelphia- At a glance,they looked little different from any other
defendants indicted on illegal-drug charges. Standing before Judge Jay
Waldman at their arraignment in U.S. District Court on Thursday morning,
the two men with the same name looked frightened, anxious, perhaps even a
little embarrassed.

Actually, Abner King Stoltzfus, 23, and Abner Stoltzfus, 24, who are not
related, are anomalies in the federal criminal-justice system. Authorities
here say they are the first two members of Pennsylvania's Amish Community
to be arrested for involvement with cocaine and methamphetamine.

Along with eight members and associates of a motorcycle gang known as the
Pagans, the Stoltzfuses were indicted after a five-year investigation in
Lancaster County, and they now face charges that could bring them a
mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison.

Nine of the defendants, including the Amish men, pleaded not guilty; a 10th
defendant, Natalie King, is to be arraigned next week.

As Waldman explained the procedure to each of the Stoltzfuses, seven of
their relatives and close friends - all dressed in typical Amish wear - sat
silently in the third row of the courtroom, hiding their somber faces from
courtroom artists in accordance with their belief that it is a sin of
vanity to have your likeness reproduced.

For generations, the Amish have lived lives different yet not entirely
apart from mainstream America. In their eastern Pennsylvania communities of
Gap, Intercourse, Paradise and other small towns, they work as
farmers,craftsmen and small-business owners who have raised families under
the strictures of their church and the quaint ways of a bygone era: They
eschew such basic conveniences as electricity and travel in horse-drawn
buggies.

In many ways, they have been poster people for all that America cherishes:
strong family values, accountability, responsibility, a deep faith in God.

But in recent years, suburban sprawl westward from Philadelphia has invaded
their turf. Though it has brought new jobs at a time when fewer Amish are
tending to farms that are generations old, it has also brought them wider
exposure to commercial America and some of its unsavory elements.

Were it only alcohol involved in charges against them, the levels of
surprise and bewilderment among the Amish might not have been so high.
Typically, Amish teen-agers are permitted several years of discovery
outside the traditions of family and church to help them decide whether
they want to re-enter their church and community for the rest of their
lives.

Often during that period, known as timeout, the youths join groups that
meet in social settings the Amish call hoedowns, where taboo activities
like drinking, smoking and driving cars are common.

"Times are a-changing," Robert Ham, who has been the police chief for 28
years in Strasburg, a Lancaster County town of 3,000, said in an interview
earlier this week. "Their young folks get out into the world. They believe
in sowing their wild oats while they're young."

Checked-by: (Joel W. Johnson)