93-year-old froze to death, owed big utility bill

[tree md]

"-The power company didn't do much in the way of homework before they placed his home on the limiting device."

Personally I don't think it takes much homework to know that shutting off power with the record low temps we've had this past month is a terrible idea and a huge mistake. Where were these people's common sense? Are we becoming so blinded by following standard protocol that we have lost all sense of what is decent and humane?

Heads should roll on this. Anyone who allowed power to be cut off to homes in 20-40 below temps should not only have their policies reviewed, they should be held criminally responsible.

 

[powerstroke73L]

Personally I don't think it takes much homework to know that shutting off power with the record low temps we've had this past month is a terrible idea and a huge mistake. Where were these people's common sense? Are we becoming so blinded by following standard protocol that we have lost all sense of what is decent and humane?

What I'm saying is that they didn't do their due diligence here. I'm betting what happened was they made a few phone calls/sent a few notices and either this guy didn't answer or didn't make much sense when he did. THEREFORE they should have sent a tech out to knock on the door to see what was going on. Even if the guy didn't answer the door he could have poked around a bit and saw that things weren't well kept, etc...and at that point could have reported back to the company who in turn should have local social service agencies on speed dial this time of year.

 

[tree md]

I hear what your saying. I just think if anyone along the chain of command would have stopped and thought for a moment they probably would have realized that shutting off power to anyone during the dangerously cold temps we have had in the past couple of weeks was probably not a good idea. Are these people mindless drones? Did they just not think or were they to busy following protocol to think of the consequences that shutting off power in that cold of weather might have? Either way someone should be held accountable IMO.

 

[385xp9106]

power company

thats realy messed up,being that cold an shut off the power on him.why not before winter or after,so he could of had help..as much money as they make thats just wrong

 

[maplemeister]

Just out of curiosity what does this have to do with politics, illegal immigrants, or veterans status?

This guy DID NOT die because he sat in his house saying:

"I'm a bleeding heart liberal and I think I should get heat for free because I can't pay for it!"

He also DID NOT die because the power company said:

"We're hardcore personal responsibility conservatives and we think you should freeze to death if you can't pay!"

Finally, he DID NOT die because resources were allocated elsewhere so that illegal immigrants could have heat.

He DID die because of the following:

-Obviously the "lights were on" (pardon the pun) but no one was home in terms of his mental state.

-His neighbors either didn't know him well enough to come over and check on him periodically, or did know him and just didn't do so.

-The power company didn't do much in the way of homework before they placed his home on the limiting device.

Quite simply, this poor guy "fell through the cracks" as so many do during this time of year. Obviously, the first line of defense is yourself, but in cases of the very young and the very old, this isn't always reliable. Should the government or other entities take care of these people when they cannot take care of themselves? That's a philosophical question. However, I will say this-the cold weather doesn't care about your age, race, veterans status, citizenship, etc... Therefore turning this into an argument of "WWII vet dies because illegal immigrants stole his heat" is ridiculous at best. It's using a tragedy to grind an ax at worst. I don't like illegal immigrants as much as the next guy, but don't sit there with a straight face and tell me that they were responsible for this poor man's death.

NO ONE should have to freeze or starve to death in this country especially if they cannot help themselves. If they're illegal immigrants from points south and they're freezing the best thing we can do for them is send them home where it's warm! If they're U.S. citizens they should be able to rely on their neighbors, social service agencies, and as a last resort the government for help. All it would have taken is one neighbor to call the Salvation Army, Catholic Charities, Lutheran Social Ministries, etc...to get this guy some help. All it would have taken was one utility worker actually knocking on the door before shutting the power off to see what kind of mental state this poor old fella was in. The United States may have become great in large part because of our philosophy of rugged individualism, but we don't live in a vacuum. The good book tells you all you need to know about how to treat your neighbors. That should transcend all arguments about citizenship, political philosophy, etc...

On the contrary, this issue has everything to do with politics, illegal immigrants, and veterans status in my opinion.
1. I don't blame the illegals for this mans death, but I do blame the politicians who have bent over backwards to spend in excess of 300 billion dollars supporting illegals in every manner conceivable, but somehow couldn't find the time or interest to make sure that senior citizens who live here legally don't fall through the cracks in their old age. There is something seriously wrong with our priorities when a tragedy such as this is allowed to happen needlessly. I may be old fashioned, but I also feel that all veterans are owed a special debt of gratitude for the selfless service they gladly give to their fellow man. Our government has thanked them by providing them with shoddy care facilities as evidenced by recent new stories about the sad state of VA hospitals, but somehow, we have tons of money to spend on more important items such as funding abortion overseas. I guess the whole point to me is that I can't understand why our so called leaders seem to want to take care of everybody except the deserving American citizen.
I wholeheartedly agree with your assertion that someone with the power company should have acted as the gatekeeper in this situation and determined whether or not the old guy was capable of making sound decisions on his own. Something that simple could have avoided this whole tragedy with very little expense to anyone. Many of us could well end up all alone in our old age and maybe not to clearheaded either. If the power company doesn't at least check on the individual before cutting power, there will undoubtedly be more situations just like this one down the road.

Maplemeister:

 

[windthrown]

Just out of curiosity what does this have to do with politics, illegal immigrants, or veterans status?

The connection is this: This guy fought in WWII and did his duty to the country and all of us. At an old age he could not pay the bills, he was forgotten and neglected. So they shut off his power and he was killed as a result. The governments: city, county, state, and federal all neglected him.

Contrast that to these illegal Mexicans I see in the store every day, cashing federal food stamps for food. They do and did NOTHING for this country, other than wander up here for jobs. They do not pay taxes, they are not signed up for the draft, they have not done ANYTHING to support anyone here, other than work for cheap. And in the end, they get a handout from the government to feed their pie holes, while a veteran that fought for this country freezes to death someplace else?

That is the contrasting connection I am trying to make here. No good deed goes unpunished in this country. We all have been sold down the river by the controlling factions of government and multinational companies. In the end it is pathetic, really, but it happens here in the great USA every day. Its all politics regarding who gets on the dole, and who gets neglected.

 

[385xp9106]

The connection is this: This guy fought in WWII and did his duty to the country and all of us. At an old age he could not pay the bills, he was forgotten and neglected. So they shut off his power and he was killed as a result. The governments: city, county, state, and federal all neglected him.

Contrast that to these illegal Mexicans I see in the store every day, cashing federal food stamps for food. They do and did NOTHING for this country, other than wander up here for jobs. They do not pay taxes, they are not signed up for the draft, they have not done ANYTHING to support anyone here, other than work for cheap. And in the end, they get a handout from the government to feed their pie holes, while a veteran that fought for this country freezes to death someplace else?

That is the contrasting connection I am trying to make here. No good deed goes unpunished in this country. We all have been sold down the river by the controlling factions of government and multinational companies. In the end it is pathetic, really, but it happens here in the great USA every day. Its all politics regarding who gets on the dole, and who gets neglected.

TOTALY AGREE

 

[jgoodhart]

I don't post allot but this has me going. I find the electric co. at fault. When they install the current limiting device they should have also monitored it or spent the extra buck so the device signaled automatically when it was tripped. Installing such a device on the resident of a 93 year old person is just plain neglect and I don't care if they are a vet or not it isn't't right.
As for illegal immigrants it makes my blood boil the hand outs they get in this country and how much it cost us. I have followed them in line at the store and watched them pay with food stamps and whip out a roll of cash for what food stamps didn't't cover and they eat better than I can afford to feed my family.

 

[windthrown]

This is what I don't get:

You list government as being at fault. Where the hell are 'the people'?

He was our fellow man, not a ward of the state.

Utilites are heavilly regulated and/or owned BY THE GOVERNMENT . In this case, the elderly man owed money to the CITY of Bay City, MI (where my grandmother was from, actually). So I hold them at fault here. As for the local citizens, or 'the people' as you call them, what can anyone say? People die of neglect every day. It is a sad fact. The guy outlived his wife and family. Who knows where his kids were, or if he had any. I do not have kids myself, and I expect to wind up like him some day. Frozen from neglect...

Actually I expected more people to freeze to death this winter if gas had stayed as high as it was this summer. It will be a more common thing in the very near future, with the price of energy being what it is. We will have to decide, as a society, who lives and who dies. Who gets to stay warm, and who gets to freeze to death in winter. Same thing will happen if they socialize medicine. There will be a cut-off for a specific list of ailments, while others will be saved.

But in this specific case, someone from the city utility went out there and put in a device to cut this guy's electricity off cold. The direct result of that action lead to the guy's death. The city government is at fault for allowing the city utility to install such a device in this case. The government will also be at fault if they fail to prosecute the actions of the city utility, and/or if they fail to restrict the use of these types of devices in future. Otherwise they are just partaking in some type of genocide of the elderly and poor, Eskimo style: death by cold. As a society, we cannot allow this to happen.

 

[lfnh]

Here are some direct quotes from the Bay City elected officials and employees:

http://www.mlive.com/news/bay-city/index.ssf/2009/01/bay_city_raises_electric_rates.html

http://www.mlive.com/news/bay-city/index.ssf/2009/01/marvin_schurs_death_was_preven.html

Accountability....

Personnal Accountability.

Most of the older people that survived the Great Depression/WWII are very reluctant to ask for help from family, much less from neighbors and even less so from government services. Many have hearing difficulties and using a phone is not as easy as it is for the rest of us.

The right thing to do is get up, go out, and check up on someone, in person.

 

[Keevan]

Social Services should have been contacted to see the welfare of anybody before power is shut off on anybody in winter.

 

[ropensaddle]

I think they should take the exec responsible for this atrocity and
push him out of a Cesna with a self opening parachute and two matches
in the arctic!

 

[windthrown]

I think they should take the exec responsible for this atrocity and push him out of a Cesna with a self opening parachute and two matches in the arctic!

That would be very just and fitting!!!!

Sadly, they will all point the fingers at each other, and no one will take any responsibility. There will be some generic scolding and generalized changes in policy, and the rest will be swept under the giant proverbial rug. Meanwhile they just raised the electric rates in Bay City by another 3%....

 

[windthrown]

It would be wild to find out the old man died with money to spare but was hoarding it away. I'm not suggesting he was.....but it wouldn't be the first time.

As it happens to be turning out, the police found more than enough money in the guy's house to pay the bills. He was not a dead beat. He was old and half deaf, and over 90 years old. According to his nephew, the guy have over half a million in the bank! Seems he was not hording it either. He just did not pay the bills. The city seemingly did not care about what or why, and government run policy and beurocracy lead the way to the man's demise.

So we have a case of an old timer that was disconnected from reality for some reason, be it dimentia or age, and a government run utility (most utilities in the state of Michigan are state or city owned and run) that cut off his services, in the middle of winter. Public outcry is going to force the issue here, and already the state is taking measures to prevent limiters from being used in future. The city has also removed all the limiters in use.

Oops... someone screwed up big time. Government BS beurocracy rears its ugly head once again.

 

[avalancher]

They were saying on the news that the old man had the money, he just didnt know how to pay the bill.According to un-named sources, the old guy relied on people to take him into town to buy groceries, pay his bills in cash, etc. He knew that sending cash through the mail was not a good idea, but was also very hesitant about asking for help. He would accept help from those that offered, but wouldnt ask.

Again according to the un-named sources, when the police where called to the scene, they found the electric bill with cash paper clipped to it. It appears he was just waiting for someone to offer to take him into town.
It further strengthens my belief that if anyone from the power company had made any attempt to contact the guy in person, the bill would have been paid on the spot. There is little doubt in my mind that if the tech that went out to his home to attach the limiter would have taken the time to knock on the door to explain why he was there, the old guy would have attempted to hand him the money which in turn should have been reported immediatly back to the main office.

In reality, did the old guy deserve to have his power cut off?Yep, he had unpaid bills, and the electric company has their own to pay.
BUT, there certainly were mitigating circumstances here that should have immediatly shifted this incident into a different arena.

Weather conditions alone should have induced a great deal of caution before making the decision to cut off the power.In my opinion, power should never be cut off when it endangers a life. Money can be earned other ways, a life can not be replaced.

A lack of one on one contact should have been a red flag to anyone.

I do believe one thing, the cold hearted approach to this situation should merit some head rolling. After all, the city has taken several hundred calls from angry citizens from all across the country and Canada about this terrible atrocity.How can all these folks be wrong in believing that a crime against humanity has occured here?

Sorry for the long winded post here, but it was my thoughts for the day on the matter.

 

[bigjake]

This is disgusting .Let me say this. if this house was a million dollar home they
would not cut the electric for a thousand dollars .All they had to do was knock
on the freakin door and the old man would have paid them .But no because
thats not the job of the guy who puts on the limmiter .

Here is a simple solution in cold weather the police have to go into the house
and make sure nobody is in harms way .If they attack it like it was a dui
nobody would die .And i bet another thing his billing record most likely was
on and off because of his situation .And how long was he paying that same
company.

This should make everyone mad .Here they will not cut power after a certin
time of the year.

 

[woodguy105]

I read this on the news elsewhere this morning. The gentleman was a WW2 vet, had no kids and his wife had already passed some time back. It really saddens me to see our society giving handouts to people who are too damn lazy to work for a living and then turn around and let someone who fought for our country freeze to death.

Well said.

 

[woodguy105]

Now that he's gone, let's see the next news story of the "beloved" family member suing the electric co. 'cause they killed dear old uncle fred.

I'm sure the bottom feeders will be lining up for their due. JMHO

 

[logbutcher]

OK, the big bad power company let this guy freeze to death? I don't think so. Doesn't the person who died have some responsibility here? If it was cold in his house, he could have gone to a neighbors house, restaurant, wal-mart...the list is endless. In my area there are utility assistance programs for the elderly and poverty stricken folks.

It seems to me that this guy committed suicide. Sad for sure, but since when did any for profit company have a responsibility to give away their product to anyone who can't afford it?

:agree2:

Nice attitude. Gross stupidity. This is not our way, not the manner in which Americans are supposed to care. Start using some empathy and brainpower: WWII Vet, 90 years old, alone. Ever think you could be there ? Know anyone close to you in that situation ?
And under law, power companies are "public" utilities regulated by us, citizens.

TreeCo et. al. with this atttude, you have lost any respect on this site.

 

[timbrjackrussel]

Very Sad

Bay City is the Sister City of my Town Goderich Ontario Canada
http://blog.mlive.com/bctimes/2008/07/oh_canada_bay_city_mayor_visit.html
I thought that a Utility would place a lien on the property for unpaid bills.