Electric Company Kills WW2 Vet for Not Paying Bills

[SkinBasket]

A sign of things to come under the new administration?


Freezing Death of Michigan Man, 93, Inside Home Sparks Anger
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
AP

BAY CITY, Michigan — When neighbors went inside Marvin Schur's house, the windows were frosted over, icicles hung from a faucet, and the 93-year-old World War II veteran lay dead on the bedroom floor in a winter jacket over four layers of clothing.

He froze to death — slowly and painfully, authorities say — days after the electric company installed a power-limiting device because of more than $1,000 in unpaid bills.

The old man's sad end two weeks ago has led to outrage, soul-searching and a resolve never to let something like this happen again.

"There's got to be a way in today's computer age they can find out if someone's over a certain age," said Chad Sepos, 37, a copy machine installer who lives a block away in this Lake Huron city of 34,000 people, about 90 miles from Detroit. "It's just sad."

One of the saddest things of all was that Schur appeared to have plenty of money, and, in fact, one of the neighbors who entered the home reported seeing cash clipped to a pile of bills on the kitchen table. Schur's nephew suggested the old man's mind may have been slipping.

Schur, or "Mutts," was a retired foundry worker who lived alone, his wife having died a couple of years ago. The couple had no children. He could often be seen through the big front window of his comfortably furnished home of 50 or 60 years, watching TV or keeping an eye on his neighborhood.

On Jan. 13, a worker with the city-owned utility installed a "limiter" on Schur's electric meter after four months of unpaid bills. The device restricts power and blows like a fuse if usage rises past a set level. Electricity is not restored until the device is flipped back on by the homeowner, who must walk outside to the meter.

City Electric Light & Power did not contact Schur face-to-face to notify him of the device and explain how it works, instead following its usual policy by leaving a note on the door. But neighbors said Schur rarely, if ever, left the house in the cold.

At some point, the device evidently tripped and was not reset, authorities said. Schur's home was heated by a gas furnace, not electricity, but some gas furnaces do not work properly if the power is out.

Neighbors discovered Schur's body on Jan. 17 in his home, a yellow house with peeling paint. The outside temperature ranged from a high of 12 degrees to a low of minus 9 on Jan. 15, the day he was believed to have died. A heating pad was on his favorite armchair by the window. The oven door was open, perhaps to heat the place.

"The body has a tremendous fighting power for survival. He died a slow, painful death," said Dr. Kanu Virani, who found frostbite on Schur's foot when performing the autopsy. Investigators are trying to establish how long he was without electricity.

City officials are reviewing their procedures and in the meantime have suspended shutoffs and removed all limiters from homes after using the devices for 18 years.

The medical examiner is looking into whether Schur suffered from dementia, particularly after police found enough cash lying around in the home to cover his bills. His nephew William Walworth said Schur told him two years ago he had $600,000 in savings.

"It's definitely not a situation where money is an issue. The issue has to do with the mental faculties you have and your ability to make good decisions," said Walworth, 67, who lives in Ormond Beach, Fla.

"I think the utility's policies are horrible and insane," he added. "For 50 years he paid the bill on a regular basis and never had problems. If people would know who their customers are and take concern for their customers, maybe they'd go knock on the door and see if everything is OK."

Neighbors and others have posted messages on the Internet, complaining it was a shabby way to treat a veteran and demanding city employees be fired or prosecuted for not taking a few minutes to check on Schur, who was a medic in the South Pacific and earned a Purple Heart.

One blogger noted that even a pet owner who leaves his dog outside to freeze can face charges.

Sharon Gire, director of the Michigan Office of Services to the Aging, said Schur's death was preventable. "He was one of Michigan's most vulnerable citizens in need," she said. "It is a tragedy that he had to suffer such a painful death."

Michigan's big, state-regulated utilities are not allowed to shut off power to senior citizens in the winter and must offer payment plans to the poor. State regulators also discourage the use of limiters. But Michigan's 41 smaller municipal utilities — Bay City's included — are not overseen by the state.

Schur's death has prompted Michigan lawmakers to start writing legislation that could ban the use of limiters by municipal utilities.

"The concern was particularly with elderly customers; they can be frail or confused," Public Service Commission spokeswoman July Palnau said. "Anything that can require some sort of mechanical intervention can be overwhelming."

Bay City Manager Robert Belleman said that he was "deeply saddened" by Schur's death and that State Police will investigate. But he also said neighbors have a responsibility to each other.

"I've said this before and some of my colleagues have said this: Neighbors need to keep an eye on neighbors," Belleman said. "When they think there's something wrong, they should contact the appropriate agency or city department."

[mraynrand]

California is considering passing a bill requiring thermostats to be linked by radio to the power company, so that Cuffy Meigs can regulate your household temperature, in the interest of 'the state.' I would imagine that they would be able to decide which home is heated to what level. I guess you would have to pay indulgences to the CA government. Oh what a Brave New World, that has such wonderful devices in it!

[mraynrand]

"I think the utility's policies are horrible and insane," he added. "For 50 years he paid the bill on a regular basis and never had problems. If people would know who their customers are and take concern for their customers, maybe they'd go knock on the door and see if everything is OK."

We are losing contact. Has someone knocked on Scott Campbell's door to see whether he is still alive?

[hoosier]

I'm trying to understand the right-wing outrage. Why is this guy's death a sign of the "new administration" and not just a result of a local power company's blunder?


Michigan's big, state-regulated utilities are not allowed to shut off power to senior citizens in the winter and must offer payment plans to the poor. State regulators also discourage the use of limiters. But Michigan's 41 smaller municipal utilities — Bay City's included — are not overseen by the state.

Schur's death has prompted Michigan lawmakers to start writing legislation that could ban the use of limiters by municipal utilities.

[SkinBasket]

I'm trying to understand the right-wing outrage. Why is this guy's death a sign of the "new administration" and not just a result of a local power company's blunder?

I'm still trying to figure out the left-wing outrage over the old administration's perceived responsibility for Katrina instead of the result of state and local blunders.

Oabama obviously hated this guy and wanted him dead. So he used the power company to do it. Horrible.

[Zool]

I'm trying to understand the right-wing outrage. Why is this guy's death a sign of the "new administration" and not just a result of a local power company's blunder?

I'm still trying to figure out the left-wing outrage over the old administration's perceived responsibility for Katrina instead of the result of state and local blunders.

Oabama obviously hated this guy and wanted him dead. So he used the power company to do it. Horrible.

Skinbasket hates black people

[SkinBasket]

I'm trying to understand the right-wing outrage. Why is this guy's death a sign of the "new administration" and not just a result of a local power company's blunder?

I'm still trying to figure out the left-wing outrage over the old administration's perceived responsibility for Katrina instead of the result of state and local blunders.

Oabama obviously hated this guy and wanted him dead. So he used the power company to do it. Horrible.

Skinbasket hates black people

And women.

[mraynrand]

I'm trying to understand the right-wing outrage. Why is this guy's death a sign of the "new administration" and not just a result of a local power company's blunder?

I'm still trying to figure out the left-wing outrage over the old administration's perceived responsibility for Katrina instead of the result of state and local blunders.

Oabama obviously hated this guy and wanted him dead. So he used the power company to do it. Horrible.

Skinbasket hates black people

And women.

And cornholes?

http://media.movieweb.com/galleries/1519/890/lo/co9.jpg

[hoosier]

I'm trying to understand the right-wing outrage. Why is this guy's death a sign of the "new administration" and not just a result of a local power company's blunder?

I'm still trying to figure out the left-wing outrage over the old administration's perceived responsibility for Katrina instead of the result of state and local blunders.

Oabama obviously hated this guy and wanted him dead. So he used the power company to do it. Horrible.

I see. You still can't see how the Bush Adminstration's incompetence affected people's lives after Katrina, and so you're making a ridiculous analogy to drive home your inability to grasp that point. Thanks for clarifying.

[BallHawk]

I'm trying to understand the right-wing outrage. Why is this guy's death a sign of the "new administration" and not just a result of a local power company's blunder?

I'm still trying to figure out the left-wing outrage over the old administration's perceived responsibility for Katrina instead of the result of state and local blunders.

Maybe when that administration appoints a guy that deals with Arabian horses to be in charge of disaster relief?

[mraynrand]

I'm trying to understand the right-wing outrage. Why is this guy's death a sign of the "new administration" and not just a result of a local power company's blunder?

I'm still trying to figure out the left-wing outrage over the old administration's perceived responsibility for Katrina instead of the result of state and local blunders.

Oabama obviously hated this guy and wanted him dead. So he used the power company to do it. Horrible.

I see. You still can't see how the Bush Adminstration's incompetence affected people's lives after Katrina, and so you're making a ridiculous analogy to drive home your inability to grasp that point. Thanks for clarifying.

I guess he didn't get that 170 billion to 'em fast enough. Get some treatment for your BDS.

[mraynrand]

I'm trying to understand the right-wing outrage. Why is this guy's death a sign of the "new administration" and not just a result of a local power company's blunder?

I'm still trying to figure out the left-wing outrage over the old administration's perceived responsibility for Katrina instead of the result of state and local blunders.

Maybe when that administration appoints a guy that deals with Arabian horses to be in charge of disaster relief?

That had a lot to do with them remaining in their homes instead of fleeing, didn't it. I can't believe the moronic nature of Katrina bullshit that you lefty fools spill from your pie holes. Treat your BDS.

[Zool]

Name caller

[hoosier]

I'm trying to understand the right-wing outrage. Why is this guy's death a sign of the "new administration" and not just a result of a local power company's blunder?

I'm still trying to figure out the left-wing outrage over the old administration's perceived responsibility for Katrina instead of the result of state and local blunders.

Oabama obviously hated this guy and wanted him dead. So he used the power company to do it. Horrible.

I see. You still can't see how the Bush Adminstration's incompetence affected people's lives after Katrina, and so you're making a ridiculous analogy to drive home your inability to grasp that point. Thanks for clarifying.

I guess he didn't get that 170 billion to 'em fast enough. Get some treatment for your BDS.

I guess it never really dawned on me until just now how stuck in the past the right is. I mean, the right is always stuck in the past, but in the US today the neoconservative discourse is totally consumed by perceived slights suffered three years ago by an incompetent president. If this isn't evidence of a political ideology in decline, I don't know what is.

[SkinBasket]

I guess it never really dawned on me until just now how stuck in the past the right is. I mean, the right is always stuck in the past, but in the US today the neoconservative discourse is totally consumed by perceived slights suffered three years ago by an incompetent president. If this isn't evidence of a political ideology in decline, I don't know what is.

The degree of consideration you've given the absurd is evidence of a political ideology that's as hypocritically clueless as ever.

[SkinBasket]

http://lonelysandpiper.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/pelosi1.jpg
Can you smell what the Nancy is cookin?!

[Freak Out]

http://lonelysandpiper.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/pelosi1.jpg
Can you smell what the Nancy is cookin?!

Nancy looks like an older version of the girl in your Avatar.

[Tyrone Bigguns]

I'm trying to understand the right-wing outrage. Why is this guy's death a sign of the "new administration" and not just a result of a local power company's blunder?

I'm still trying to figure out the left-wing outrage over the old administration's perceived responsibility for Katrina instead of the result of state and local blunders.

Oabama obviously hated this guy and wanted him dead. So he used the power company to do it. Horrible.

I see. You still can't see how the Bush Adminstration's incompetence affected people's lives after Katrina, and so you're making a ridiculous analogy to drive home your inability to grasp that point. Thanks for clarifying.

I guess he didn't get that 170 billion to 'em fast enough. Get some treatment for your BDS.

I guess it never really dawned on me until just now how stuck in the past the right is. I mean, the right is always stuck in the past, but in the US today the neoconservative discourse is totally consumed by perceived slights suffered three years ago by an incompetent president. If this isn't evidence of a political ideology in decline, I don't know what is.

Stuck in the past? How can you say that?

I'm sure Skin and his gang will figure out a way to blame Bill Clinton for everything.

[mraynrand]

I'm trying to understand the right-wing outrage. Why is this guy's death a sign of the "new administration" and not just a result of a local power company's blunder?

I'm still trying to figure out the left-wing outrage over the old administration's perceived responsibility for Katrina instead of the result of state and local blunders.

Oabama obviously hated this guy and wanted him dead. So he used the power company to do it. Horrible.

I see. You still can't see how the Bush Adminstration's incompetence affected people's lives after Katrina, and so you're making a ridiculous analogy to drive home your inability to grasp that point. Thanks for clarifying.

I guess he didn't get that 170 billion to 'em fast enough. Get some treatment for your BDS.

I guess it never really dawned on me until just now how stuck in the past the right is. I mean, the right is always stuck in the past, but in the US today the neoconservative discourse is totally consumed by perceived slights suffered three years ago by an incompetent president. If this isn't evidence of a political ideology in decline, I don't know what is.

Are you really this much of a moron? You brought the whole thing up. get over it. The guy you voted for is porking you into 1937.

[mraynrand]

Name caller

Call Namer

[Tyrone Bigguns]

I'm trying to understand the right-wing outrage. Why is this guy's death a sign of the "new administration" and not just a result of a local power company's blunder?

I'm still trying to figure out the left-wing outrage over the old administration's perceived responsibility for Katrina instead of the result of state and local blunders.

Oabama obviously hated this guy and wanted him dead. So he used the power company to do it. Horrible.

I see. You still can't see how the Bush Adminstration's incompetence affected people's lives after Katrina, and so you're making a ridiculous analogy to drive home your inability to grasp that point. Thanks for clarifying.

I guess he didn't get that 170 billion to 'em fast enough. Get some treatment for your BDS.

I guess it never really dawned on me until just now how stuck in the past the right is. I mean, the right is always stuck in the past, but in the US today the neoconservative discourse is totally consumed by perceived slights suffered three years ago by an incompetent president. If this isn't evidence of a political ideology in decline, I don't know what is.

Are you really this much of a moron? You brought the whole thing up. get over it. The guy you voted for is porking you into 1937.

Really? that would make bush hoover. Congrats!!

[Freak Out]

Name caller

Call Namer

Call Nader.

[mraynrand]

I'm trying to understand the right-wing outrage. Why is this guy's death a sign of the "new administration" and not just a result of a local power company's blunder?

I'm still trying to figure out the left-wing outrage over the old administration's perceived responsibility for Katrina instead of the result of state and local blunders.

Oabama obviously hated this guy and wanted him dead. So he used the power company to do it. Horrible.

I see. You still can't see how the Bush Adminstration's incompetence affected people's lives after Katrina, and so you're making a ridiculous analogy to drive home your inability to grasp that point. Thanks for clarifying.

I guess he didn't get that 170 billion to 'em fast enough. Get some treatment for your BDS.

I guess it never really dawned on me until just now how stuck in the past the right is. I mean, the right is always stuck in the past, but in the US today the neoconservative discourse is totally consumed by perceived slights suffered three years ago by an incompetent president. If this isn't evidence of a political ideology in decline, I don't know what is.

Are you really this much of a moron? You brought the whole thing up. get over it. The guy you voted for is porking you into 1937.

Really? that would make bush hoover. Congrats!!

So you agree with me.

[Tyrone Bigguns]

I'm trying to understand the right-wing outrage. Why is this guy's death a sign of the "new administration" and not just a result of a local power company's blunder?

I'm still trying to figure out the left-wing outrage over the old administration's perceived responsibility for Katrina instead of the result of state and local blunders.

Oabama obviously hated this guy and wanted him dead. So he used the power company to do it. Horrible.

I see. You still can't see how the Bush Adminstration's incompetence affected people's lives after Katrina, and so you're making a ridiculous analogy to drive home your inability to grasp that point. Thanks for clarifying.

I guess he didn't get that 170 billion to 'em fast enough. Get some treatment for your BDS.

I guess it never really dawned on me until just now how stuck in the past the right is. I mean, the right is always stuck in the past, but in the US today the neoconservative discourse is totally consumed by perceived slights suffered three years ago by an incompetent president. If this isn't evidence of a political ideology in decline, I don't know what is.

Are you really this much of a moron? You brought the whole thing up. get over it. The guy you voted for is porking you into 1937.

Really? that would make bush hoover. Congrats!!

So you agree with me.

IF the choice is between being the second FDR or the second hoover...i'm firmly in the FDR camp.

Perhaps you should rethink your position. :oops:

[mraynrand]

I'm trying to understand the right-wing outrage. Why is this guy's death a sign of the "new administration" and not just a result of a local power company's blunder?

I'm still trying to figure out the left-wing outrage over the old administration's perceived responsibility for Katrina instead of the result of state and local blunders.

Oabama obviously hated this guy and wanted him dead. So he used the power company to do it. Horrible.

I see. You still can't see how the Bush Adminstration's incompetence affected people's lives after Katrina, and so you're making a ridiculous analogy to drive home your inability to grasp that point. Thanks for clarifying.

I guess he didn't get that 170 billion to 'em fast enough. Get some treatment for your BDS.

I guess it never really dawned on me until just now how stuck in the past the right is. I mean, the right is always stuck in the past, but in the US today the neoconservative discourse is totally consumed by perceived slights suffered three years ago by an incompetent president. If this isn't evidence of a political ideology in decline, I don't know what is.

Are you really this much of a moron? You brought the whole thing up. get over it. The guy you voted for is porking you into 1937.

Really? that would make bush hoover. Congrats!!

So you agree with me.

IF the choice is between being the second FDR or the second hoover...i'm firmly in the FDR camp.

Perhaps you should rethink your position. :oops:

So you're in favor of extending a recession into a depression lasting a decade or more - depending on the possibility of war. 13-22% unemployment as opposed to 6-7%. OK, I get you. Perhaps you want to rethink your position. :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops::oops: :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops:

[Tyrone Bigguns]

That is subject to interpretation. You can't prove any of your points.

History looks way more kindly on FDR than Hoover. :lol:

[texaspackerbacker]

That is subject to interpretation. You can't prove any of your points.

History looks way more kindly on FDR than Hoover. :lol:

Gosh, I wonder why that is. I'm sure it couldn't be because historians are leftist in about the same percentage as mainstream media members. Thus, history will also look way more kindly on Clinton than Bush--either one of them.

This is off topic, but that picture of Nancy Pelosi on the previous page, she looks a lot like Nancy Reagan--albeit when Mrs. Reagan was 20 or 30 years older and on a bad day.

[swede]

History will look kindly on Nancy Pelosi you right-wing gas bag!

[mraynrand]

History will look kindly on Nancy Pelosi you right-wing gas bag!

You are most kind, Mr Swede. Nancy looks back most fondly on her appearance on 'Lost in Space' - a recurring role....

http://i453.photobucket.com/albums/qq254/mraynrand/lilnan.jpg

[mraynrand]

That is subject to interpretation. You can't prove any of your points.

Well argued, councillor.

[Tyrone Bigguns]

That is subject to interpretation. You can't prove any of your points.

History looks way more kindly on FDR than Hoover. :lol:

Gosh, I wonder why that is. I'm sure it couldn't be because historians are leftist in about the same percentage as mainstream media members. Thus, history will also look way more kindly on Clinton than Bush--either one of them.

This is off topic, but that picture of Nancy Pelosi on the previous page, she looks a lot like Nancy Reagan--albeit when Mrs. Reagan was 20 or 30 years older and on a bad day.

why are most historians leftist? Please provide proof that historians are leftists.

If they are, why do they look kindly on Lincoln, reagan, teddy roosevelt, eisnehower who were republicans?

[texaspackerbacker]

3 of the 4 weren't conservatives at all. The one who was conservative, even though he is so obviously the greatest of ALL presidents, is already being ignored and downgraded by historians, and that trend will likely continue as people who remember the true fade away and die off.

What about James Monroe, James K. Polk, William McKinley, and Calvin Coolidge? All were presidents who stood firm for America, did plenty of good, and no harm. Do you see them on any historians' list of great presidents?

Oh never mind. I forgot, it's Tyrone who brought this up. You probably haven't even heard of those guys.

[Tyrone Bigguns]

3 of the 4 weren't conservatives at all. The one who was conservative, even though he is so obviously the greatest of ALL presidents, is already being ignored and downgraded by historians, and that trend will likely continue as people who remember the true fade away and die off.

What about James Monroe, James K. Polk, William McKinley, and Calvin Coolidge? All were presidents who stood firm for America, did plenty of good, and no harm. Do you see them on any historians' list of great presidents?

Oh never mind. I forgot, it's Tyrone who brought this up. You probably haven't even heard of those guys.

The issue wasn't of conservatism..nice try. The issue was Dem and Repub. But, you once again try to reframe the argument.

Nice job of avoiding any sort of facts. Once again, why are most historians leftist? Please provide evidence of such.

Again, why do said leftist historians hold Teddy, Ike, RR, etc in..for your sake..relative high esteem?

What about: Monroe...hey idiot...the prez i listed WERE REPUBLICANS. Unless you have some sort of knowledge the rest of us don't, Monroe wasnt' a republican. Polk..same thing.

[BallHawk]

You did not just call Calvin Coolidge a great president.....