· Episode 9 · Summary: Tom Jennings had never been all that interested in the Old Order Amish. He figured he was about as curious of them as they were in him. Both he and the Amish lived in separate worlds and that was fine. Then, after interacting with several individuals who were Amish, he changed. First, he was assigned to investigate someone stealing county dirt from a county ditch. The absurd assignment only got crazier as more and more Amish buggies arrived at the farmstead where he … [Read more...] about Tom & Jesse Jennings Discuss Parenting
Jim Potter
Blame the Amish
· Episode 8 · Arthur Kane was Assistant Director of the Cottonwood County Road and Bridge Department. He’d been around a lot longer than the furniture and felt as worn out as the old carpet. Kane was following up on a call he had received from the Sheriff’s Office. One of Kane’s people had contacted Emergency Dispatch and reported a theft in progress. The property allegedly being stolen was soil from a county ditch. According to Patrol Captain McArdle, an R&B employee had caused law … [Read more...] about Blame the Amish
Deputy Jennings Learns a Lesson
· Episode 7 · Previously, in Episode 6 (Deputy Jennings Works an Accident), Deputy Tom Jennings worked an accident between an Amish horse-and-wagon and a hit-and-run truck. The officer interviewed the Amish teenagers, Rebecca and Reuben Schrock. * It was God’s will for the children to be in the wreck, but it was also His will for them to live. With the results of God’s plans surrounding them, Martin and Irene Schrock were thankful. They also reminded themselves to limit their … [Read more...] about Deputy Jennings Learns a Lesson
Deputy Jennings Works an Accident
· Episode 6 · In Episode 5, Irene and Martin Schrock were informed by a deputy sheriff that two of their children had been involved in an accident while they were operating the Schrock family's horse-and-wagon. Deputy Jennings and Sgt. Hunter had already been assigned to work the hit-and-run accident. * Irene and Martin Schrock saw the emergency flashing lights ahead and glanced at one another. Deputy Razer slowed her patrol car. Irene spotted the ambulance first. Martin observed his … [Read more...] about Deputy Jennings Works an Accident
An Amish Accident
· Episode 5 · In an earlier episode, Rosannah Yoder had been at her Amish farmstead talking with two deputy sheriffs when the officers were assigned to a nearby injury accident. Rosannah feared her husband may have been involved in the wreck. * The asphalt, like a thermometer, was heating up after the night’s sudden storm. Rosannah, holding her youngest child, was standing beside her mother, Anna. They spotted Adam’s tractor approaching from a distance of a half–mile. Rosannah waited by … [Read more...] about An Amish Accident
Road and Bridge Department
· Episode 4 · In an earlier episode, Deputy Tom Jennings was assigned to investigate a theft of soil from a county ditch. The call to 911 had come from a Road and Bridge employee. Upon the deputy’s arrival, he discovered it was only an Amish women recovering her eroded garden soil after a heavy rain. Even though Jennings considered the theft call ridiculous, he questioned the woman and collected information for a case. He decided to make a report so that the facts would speak for … [Read more...] about Road and Bridge Department
Deputy Jennings Apologizes
· Episode 3 · Previously, in Episode 2 (Deputy Jennings and the Black Buggies), Jennings worried if the Old Order Amish were upset with him for his response to a 911 call. * Rosannah knew everyone, even the babies. She watched as the familiar buggies moved up the driveway and parked by the barn. Tractors stopped on the shoulder of the road as if they were prepared to participate in a farm auction. Like marching soldiers, a few teenage boys carried rakes and shovels over their … [Read more...] about Deputy Jennings Apologizes
Deputy Jennings and the Black Buggies
· Episode 2 · Previously, in Episode 1 (Topsoil, the Story: Deputy Tom Jennings Meets Rosannah Yoder), Deputy Tom Jennings responded to a 911 call to investigate theft of soil from a county ditch. Upon arrival, he met resident Rosannah Borntrager Yoder. * Driving his horse and buggy, Jacob Yoder arrived at the scene of the so-called crime. He and his wife, Anna, carried a buggy-full of grandchildren—five of them belonging to Rosannah and Adam. Anna held the youngest in her arms. All … [Read more...] about Deputy Jennings and the Black Buggies
Topsoil, the Story
· Introduction to Topsoil · A friend of mine shared one of her concerns by posting it on Facebook. Here’s a portion of that post: “The ditches are being dug out along the county road by our house, and I’m seeing many truckloads of soil being trucked away to who-knows-where. Things like this should probably not bother me, but I feel sorry for the farmers of the adjacent fields who lost all that topsoil and will never see it again.” After additional interactive posts by other people on the … [Read more...] about Topsoil, the Story
Memories Make Memoirs
· Susan Painter · The older you get—hopefully—the more memories you'll have to write about. Recently, I’ve run into a number of former students from my days as a School Resource Officer when I was a sergeant with the Reno County Sheriff’s Office. Since I visited the schools for so many years, like full-time teachers, I continue to refer to these young people, now adults, as “my” students. One student reminded me that he had a really tough time in school due to being bullied. He … [Read more...] about Memories Make Memoirs
