A 93-year-old man froze to death inside his home

[Texsox]

So why should society care?

 

 

 

 

 

 

/just thinking like Joe the Plumber

 

When we place that low of a value on human life, we then devalue a whole lot more. It strikes to the heart of what American values are. If our values allow for our elderly to freeze to death with such callous disregard, are we really much better than some of the countries we send the troops to?

 

When the two news stories of the day are this man freezing to death, and a $50,000,000 private jet paid for with "bail out" money, and we are more outraged about the jet, that worries me.

[ChiSox_Sonix]

I'm willing to be if you replaced "93 year old vet" with "21 year old college student" who just chose not to pay his electric bill for whatever reason and the same result occurred there would be far less of an outcry.

[Soxbadger]

So even more sad news about this story is revealed:

 

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/02/04/freezing....folo/index.html

 

A 93-year-old World War II medic who froze to death last month in his Bay City, Michigan, home left his entire estate to a local hospital, an estate attorney told CNN Wednesday.

 

The attorney would not disclose the exact amount left behind by Martin Schur. But his nephew said his uncle indicated to family members two years ago that he had saved up more than a half-million dollars over the years. Schur and his wife, Marian, who died more than a year ago, did not have any children.

 

"I just know at one time he said he had over $600,000 in savings," said William Walworth. "That's what he told me and my brother, and he was proud that he was able to save and build his estate up to that."

 

The reason why they were able to turn off the power was:

 

Unlike private utilities regulated by the state, Bay City runs and oversees its own utilities and therefore doesn't fall under Michigan's public service commission. By law, Michigan requires private companies to prohibit cutting off service to senior citizens between November and April. Seniors must register for the program.

 

Its just so sad.

[Texsox]

I'm willing to be if you replaced "93 year old vet" with "21 year old college student" who just chose not to pay his electric bill for whatever reason and the same result occurred there would be far less of an outcry.

 

Perhaps. We expect a 21 year old college student to be of able body and sound mind. We understand that a 93 year old person, who has contributed to society all those years and has fought for this country, maybe deserves a little help at the end of his life.

 

Now if the 21 year old college student was without a family or anyone to look out for him, suffered from dementia or some other complicating illness, many people would be all over the college for not watching out for him. But again, it is assumed that a college student has the sound mind to take care of himself.

[SleepyWhiteSox]

It strikes to the heart of what American values are.

 

And not just as Americans. Just basic human compassion too.

[Texsox]

Unlike private utilities regulated by the state, Bay City runs and oversees its own utilities and therefore doesn't fall under Michigan's public service commission. By law, Michigan requires private companies to prohibit cutting off service to senior citizens between November and April. Seniors must register for the program.

 

Wow, his decision on which electricity provider to use was a "life and death" decision.

[Harry Chappas]

Maybe if the nephew kept in better touch he could have been privy to the $600K.......

[Texsox]

Maybe if the nephew kept in better touch he could have been privy to the $600K.......

Yep. I hope the man had a good will and is giving the money to someone or something that will appreciate it.

[santo=dorf]

Don't you mean $599K?

[RockRaines]

If he had 600k, what kept him from paying the power bill?

[ChiSox_Sonix]

If he had 600k, what kept him from paying the power bill?

 

 

Not only that, but he went grocery shopping on his own and his house looked kept up. Also, he had at least some communication with a couple nephews (dont know the frequency). That all points to there being a pretty good probability of him having enough of his senses to know that he cant go a year without paying his electric bill.

 

But damn those people who dont let people get things for free. Murderers.

[RockRaines]

Not only that, but he went grocery shopping on his own and his house looked kept up. Also, he had at least some communication with a couple nephews (dont know the frequency). That all points to there being a pretty good probability of him having enough of his senses to know that he cant go a year without paying his electric bill.

 

But damn those people who dont let people get things for free. Murderers.

Im just saying, alot of folks on here are assuming he was senile or couldnt function, but i havent seen anything mentioned of that sort, so I am wondering what kept him from paying his bill?

[StrangeSox]

Death penalty cases

Killing a child

Killing a cop

$1000 in unpaid electric bills

 

Perhaps some here could throw the switch that killed that man, but I could not.

 

Then donate to or start a charity that helps the poor pay for the services they use. Don't force every other user to cover their costs.

[Balta1701]

Im just saying, alot of folks on here are assuming he was senile or couldnt function, but i havent seen anything mentioned of that sort, so I am wondering what kept him from paying his bill?

That's basically what I've been asking all along.

[Soxbadger]

I guess the reason it seems to me that he was unable to function is because a normal person with $100k in the bank wouldnt let themselves freeze to death.

 

Im not sure any non-disabled person would make the decision of not paying their heating bill, sitting in their home as they slowly freeze to death and not make a call to the electric company.

 

I just dont see how you could believe those choices dont show a diminished capacity to make decisions.

Edited February 5, 2009 by Soxbadger

[Texsox]

Then donate to or start a charity that helps the poor pay for the services they use. Don't force every other user to cover their costs.

 

Not asking you to. Just asking that we find a system that offers some protection from people dying. There are tens of thousands of able bodied people on public aid. This guy worked all his life, served his country, I would feel a hell of a lot better helping him than some of the other able bodied college students who receive government aid in the form of student financial aid.

 

And several of the news stories have mentioned dementia.

 

It seems reasonable for someone to show the homeowner the device and how to reset it if it trips.

 

But we live in a society that if he had a dog and left it to freeze, he could have been prosecuted. But leave an old man to freeze, and that's ok. Seems like the wrong values to me.

[Texsox]

Neighbors said Schur struggled to hear, and may have suffered from some amount of dementia. City officials said they don't believe a city worker ever made one-on-one contact with Schur to explain the limiter's operation.

 

http://www.mlive.com/news/bay-city/index.s...was_preven.html

[RockRaines]

Not asking you to. Just asking that we find a system that offers some protection from people dying. There are tens of thousands of able bodied people on public aid. This guy worked all his life, served his country, I would feel a hell of a lot better helping him than some of the other able bodied college students who receive government aid in the form of student financial aid.

 

And several of the news stories have mentioned dementia.

 

It seems reasonable for someone to show the homeowner the device and how to reset it if it trips.

 

But we live in a society that if he had a dog and left it to freeze, he could have been prosecuted. But leave an old man to freeze, and that's ok. Seems like the wrong values to me.

buuuuuut, the guy didnt need public aid, he had plenty of money. Once again bringing up the question, why didnt he pay his power bill when he clearly was purchasing other goods and services?

[RockRaines]

http://www.mlive.com/news/bay-city/index.s...was_preven.html

Finally an answer, so the guy couldnt hear and MAY have had some dementia. Still wondering why people said he went grocery shopping and whatnot, but at least now there is an answer why he may have not known about his bill.

 

Once again bringing up the problem of the lack of case workers for this type of situation at this power company.

Edited February 5, 2009 by RockRaines

[Texsox]

buuuuuut, the guy didnt need public aid, he had plenty of money. Once again bringing up the question, why didnt he pay his power bill when he clearly was purchasing other goods and services?

 

He had cash on his kitchen table clipped to the bills. The most probably answer is dementia. I doubt he was just trying to cheat the system.

[RockRaines]

He had cash on his kitchen table clipped to the bills. The most probably answer is dementia. I doubt he was just trying to cheat the system.

I've seen it and it sucks, I've seen Alzheimer's in action first hand almost out of nowhere. Age is a b****.

[Texsox]

Finally an answer, so the guy couldnt hear and MAY have had some dementia. Still wondering why people said he went grocery shopping and whatnot, but at least now there is an answer why he may have not known about his bill.

 

Once again bringing up the problem of the lack of case workers for this type of situation at this power company.

 

That power company even has a program to track senior citizens, but it is voluntary and the customer has to "opt in". Here we have electric choice and fill out credit aps with whomever you pick as your provider. They have birth dates and it seems easy enough to be proactive and tracking ages.

 

There is a lot of blame to go around.

[Texsox]

http://www.mlive.com/news/bay-city/index.s...ze_left_60.html

 

 

 

Marvin E. Schur froze to death inside his Bay City home, but his heart reached beyond the icy windows.

 

The world learned Wednesday that Schur, 93, left his entire estate - reportedly worth about $600,000 - to Bay Regional Medical Center, according to relatives who said lawyers informed them of Schur's gift.

 

 

Walworth said Schur and his late wife, retired school teacher Marian (Meisel) Schur, saved money by being "very frugal." The couple didn't have children.

 

"My Uncle Marv pinched a penny, and I don't think he ever went into a restaurant in 30 years," Walworth said. "I don't think he ever stepped into a McDonald's or a Wendy's or a Burger King.

 

"His idea of a night out with his wife - and it was kind of a ritual they had every Saturday night - was to go to a local grocery store and buy a vegetable pot pie, and they'd share it.

 

"And maybe they'd buy a $2 or $3 bottle of wine. That was their date. They must have done that for the last 20 or 30 years."

City Commissioner Kevin Novellino, 2nd Ward, believes a confluence of factors led to Schur's death.

 

"This man had enough money that he fell through the cracks of the assistance organizations that help the elderly in our community. He obviously was not in need of cash and, because of that, that's the reason he fell through all the cracks."

 

Sad point, if he didn't have any money, there would have been help available.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Balta1701]

Marvin Schur may have been worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, but the World War II veteran was chronically late in paying his utility bills during the two years before he froze to death last month at age 93 in his home in Bay City, Michigan, after his power was cut off.

 

A review of records by city workers reveals Schur, at one point, went to his own bank to make back payments, but was unable to do so because that bank was not an approved pay station for the city.

 

"Maybe he had dementia. I don't know that. We may never know," City Manager Robert Belleman told CNN.

...

 

In February 2007, Schur tried to pay about $350 at his bank, according to a city accounts supervisor. Ten days later, the supervisor says, a city worker made a notation that Schur's bank was not an authorized payment center.

 

The following month, the same city official says records show Schur tried to pay $876 at a different bank that could accept utility payments. However, the city says its records inexplicably don't reflect that the payment was made.

 

After receiving a fine for unpaid bills, Schur wiped the slate clean with a $1,000 payment, according to Bay City Accounts Supervisor Tina Cooper.

Don't Miss

 

In June and July of 2007, Schur was slapped with more fines for unpaid utility bills, then came close to catching up by paying nearly $1,138.

 

Cooper said that, in 2008, Schur continued to ride a seesaw of fines and payments and more warnings that his power would be shutoff.

 

That led to the installation of a limiter switch January 13 as a warning that he had fallen behind again. This time, records show Schur owed slightly more than $1,000.

 

When Schur's body was discovered, money attached to utility bills reportedly was found in his kitchen. A city official said Schur's phone had been disconnected.

 

After Schur's death, Bay City immediately removed all limiters and promised it would not turn off power to anyone this winter because of unpaid bills.

 

The city commission is also starting a program on March 4 to prevent deaths that enlists mail carriers to watch for anything unusual at homes on their routes.

 

To participate, residents have to enroll and place a sticker inside their mailbox. Mail carriers who notice mail accumulating or anything else that seems abnormal are instructed to notify authorities to check on the resident.

[BigSqwert]

How depressing.