The truth of the matter is, aggie, your body does experience physiological changes that help you deal with the cold. At the beginning of winter, 25 degrees feels really cold. By this time of winter, 25 feels balmy outside because we've adjusted to temps between 0-15. Besides that, we dress for the cold. We wear layers and coats and gloves and hats. Most of us would have a hard time sleeping if it was in the 50's in our homes, trust me! We don't spend a lot of time outside in the winter. However, I can honestly say that if the outside temp is over 85, I find it extremely uncomfortable and don't want to be outside at those times either!

One of my best friends from high school moved to Texas for several years. She said "It's not that different from living in Michigan. In Michigan, we don't go outside much for about 3 months due to cold. In Texas, we don't go outside much for about 3 months due to the 100 degree heat. The difference is, during those three months in Michigan, the kids are in school. In Texas, it's summer and the kids are stir crazy in the house!" She's back in Michigan now!

Did anyone hear that his family finally surfaced, and are angry at the utility company? One of his nephews is all, "we hadn't spoken in a year." :rolleyes: He also observed that his uncle had his bill envelopes filled with the correct amount of cash for each bill.

Some excerpts in an updated article:

One of the saddest things of all was that Schur appeared to have plenty of money, and, in fact, one of the neighbours 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.


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 neighbours said Schur rarely, if ever, left the house in the cold.



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.



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.

Link

Yeah but it sounds like if the man had enough cash to pay the bills, a neighbor or family member should have been there making sure they get paid.

For crying out loud, I'm constantly making sure my and live-in's bills are paid, and my dad has spent a month in Florida so my brother took over his bills for this month to make sure they get paid, too (they live in the same town).

My dad paid my grandmother's bills long before she ever went senile. In fact, when her mind went, my aunt moved in with her so that she would take care of her and pay the bills.

I guess what I'm not getting is how hard is it to pay a guy's bills every month, especially when you're using their money?

The reality is most people in society can make it in the hood and some of them even came from the hood. It is the people in your hood that can't make it in society, where you have to work, and be responsible. In your neighborhood most people don't even take care of their own kids.

I guess you think you would know all about where I am from, right?

Think you can tell me all about all the people who failed and are drug addicts and gone to jail and baby makers huh?


Hehe....you've been watching a lil' too much of The Wire if you think you are an expert to tell me about MY life and where I am from.

You think you are so right, read Job.

Lot of people don't survive falls like that.

Must be of some comfort to you to have that keyboard and a monitor separating us, eh?


Go find somewhere else to play, I'm not in the mood to take up anymore time with people's grown up stupid assed cowardly children.

My old town opens its doors to KY residents
 

http://parispi.net/articles/2009/01/...c242233072.txt


eta - Greek connection - Murray State University is now closed.

It makes it especially heartbreaking to me to know he had the money. ETA: I'm not sure why knowing that it was simply his mental faculties slipping is sadder to me, but it is. This was so preventable on so many different levels.

There's no way that it's the power companies fault in my mind since they aren't in the social services business and it would be inappropriate to expect them to come to people's homes to collect bills every month. Someone should have helped this guy if not the nephew, someone in the community.

If it turns out he really did have 600,000 in savings and the nephew gets it. . . .argh.

Wow that's a twist. This story has really stuck with me.

Poor guy. :(

During our State of the State address last night, Governor Jennifer Granholm announced that there was a moratorium on cutting off heat/electricity to all Michigan residents for the utility companies that the state regulates. She also asked the other utility companies (including the one that this guy had) who are not regulated by the state to follow the same guidelines. She said she was horrified when she heard about this guy.

One thing that could help is trying to get to know your neighbors, esp. if they are elderly. And another thing that people don't like to use or regularly know about is calling APS (Adult Protective Services) for cases such as this poor gentleman's.
I try to know all of my neighbors around where we live so in case I don't see them leaving their houses for a while, I will just pull on up and check in on them.
I know in today's world it's hard to get to know some folks because some people are just out to make a quick buck from whomever and they don't care who they will hurt in the process. But sometimes, you just gotta get out there and check on Mr. and Mrs. Smith.

By providing a public service, utility companies--both public and private--are, in a way, "in the social services business." It's not as if they're preventing credit cards from cutting off charging privileges to people who can't pay! It's not good public policy to cut off power during the winter in Michigan to 93-year olds. Apparently, the state utilities feel the same way; many private utilities have something in place already.

I'm glad the money went to the hospital and not the guy's sorry ass nephew.

I'm in Kansas and as far as I can remember (been here since 1998) our state has a "cold weather rule'...

The Cold Weather Rule generally prohibits any disconnection of service when the local National Weather Service forecasts that the temperature will drop below 35 degrees or will be in the mid-30s or colder within the following 48 hours.
http://www.westarenergy.com/corp_com...weather%20rule

It looks like during these month, they also have special payment options as well.

Although in general, I don't think states should FORCE companies to do this, but companies should be flexible with those that need it. No one wants to hear stories like this.

On another note - check on the elderly during the winter!! :)

I too am glad it went to the hospital.

I'm not pro cutting off old people in the middle of winter, but I don't think the power company is the one with the responsibility of figuring out how a mentally impaired old guy is supposed to pay his bills if he is basically putting money in envelopes but can't get the bills in the mail or to the office.

I think that someone should do this for the old guy or someone should ensure he is living in a facility that provides working heat if he's not competent to provide it for himself.

But I don't think the power company has the responsibility to do actually collect bills from the mentally impaired every month.

Even if we decide that it's in the public interest to do this, it would make more sense to provide one set of helpers as opposed to each utility having their own help-the-elderly-pay their bills staff.