Help pours in as Steuben communities respond to Amish tragedy
Thousands expected to attend funerals for 5 killed in Yates County accident
6:46 PM, Jul. 21, 2011 |
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A roadside memorial stands northwest of the intersection of Pre-emption and Loree Roads Wednesday in the Town of Benton. / JASON WHONG / STAFF PHOTO
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Written by
Jason Whong
jwhong@gannett.com
To help
To make a financial contribution to the Amish farmers in Jasper and Woodhull, send donations to Amish Relief Fund, P.O. Box 123, Woodhull NY 14898.
To learn how you can help, call Bob Manley of the Manley Agency, (607) 792-3800.
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Concerned community members on Thursday continued to offer support and arrange accommodations for thousands of Amish who are expected in Steuben County this weekend to mourn the Amish farmers killed Tuesday in a horrific crash in Yates County.
Bob Manley of the Manley Agency, an insurance office in Jasper, said community members held a meeting Thursday to focus their efforts to aid the Amish affected by the tragedy.
"We're still flying by the seat of our pants here," said Manley, who described himself as a concerned community member. "We're responding as we go."
More than 2,000 Amish are expected to attend the five funerals, he said.
Funerals will be held at 10 a.m. Friday for Melvin Hershberger, 42, and Melvin Hostetler, 40, at the Hershberger farm at Highup Road and Route 36 in Jasper. A funeral will also be held Friday for Anna Mary Byler, 60, at Olds Road in Jasper. The time of the Byler funeral was not known.
Saturday, a funeral will be held in the morning for Sarah Miller, 47, on Churchill Road in Woodhull. A Saturday morning funeral is also planned for Elizabeth Mast, 46, on Wheaton Road in Cameron. The time of both funerals was not known.
The five were killed in an accident Tuesday in neighboring Yates County. Steven A. Eldridge, 42, is charged with five counts of criminally negligent homicide and a count of driving while intoxicated in the crash, which involved his sedan, a van carrying the Amish farmers, and a farm tractor.
A court appearance for Eldridge scheduled for Friday has been canceled, Yates County Sheriff Ron Spike said Thursday. The Yates County District Attorney's Office plans to form a grand jury to hear the case, Spike said.
Investigators are awaiting the result of an analysis of Eldridge's urine, and are planning to reconstruct the three-vehicle accident, he said.
Of the seven people injured in the crash who were taken to Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, five remained hospitalized Thursday.
Lyn Oles, 41, of Greenwood, the driver hired by the Amish, and Martha Hostetler, 36, and Andy Byler, 60, were in satisfactory condition Thursday. Evia Hershberger, 38, and Rose Anna Miller, 31, were both in guarded condition at the hospital.
Enos Miller, 32, and Emery Miller, 47, have been discharged from the hospital.
The tractor driver, Tim Labarr, 44, of Dresden, was treated and released at Geneva General Hospital the day of the accident. John Mast, who was in intensive care at the hospital Wednesday, had been discharged by Thursday evening.
The Amish mourners arriving from out of the area will likely outnumber the local population, estimated in 2009 at 1,090 by the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey.
Donations of food for the mourners are arriving at the Jasper fire hall from Elmira, Horseheads and Danville, said Corey Brewer of the Jasper Ambulance Corps. The response to the tragedy has also come from outside the region.
"There was a call this morning ... from Oklahoma, wanting to know how they can contribute," Manley said. "It just makes you feel great that people really do care."
Local community members can also donate money, Manley said. "It's tough to say 'bring a chunk of bologna' because it's a hundred degrees out there," he said.
Though the Jasper Ambulance Corps has been collecting funds, a formal Amish Relief Fund has been set up at Community Bank in Woodhull, Manley said.
The hot weather has created challenges for the community, Manley said, noting that he Jasper Ambulance Corps took a portable water tank to the Hershberger farm on state Route 36 so the Amish could water their horses.
The New York Army National Guard in Rochester is sending tents, and community members are trying to set them up quickly, Manley said. "With all of this heat and sun, we can't have too many places for people to go in and get out of it," he said A refrigerated truck has been sent from Prattsburgh, loaded with ice.
The American Red Cross is sending cots, and Jasper-Troupsburg High School, on Main Street in Jasper, will be opened for people to sleep in, Manley said, adding that he didn't know whether Amish would choose to sleep there, but he thought their drivers might. The school has air conditioning and showers for people who choose to stay there, he said.
A large tent was placed at the Hershberger farm Wednesday, and another one was set up Thursday afternoon in a field, for people or horses, Manley said.
Donations sent to the Amish Relief Fund will be turned over to the Amish families, he said, noting that "the medical bills they have are astronomical."
