More Good News

Another story of love and compassion for our fellow human beings. As I have written in previous blogs about how people who have needed helped and been ignored, here is yet another example. They would stop to let her use a phone but not a ride and no thought to call 911. Lovely.



NORTH BERGEN, N.J. — A 19-year-old woman who thought she was going to a party was instead driven to a rural wooded area and abandoned in 8-degree weather in a long-planned attack by three friends angry with her over an insurance claim, police said Thursday.

The victim was wearing only a dress and one shoe, having lost the other in a struggle as she was dragged from the car, said Lt. Frank Cannella of the North Bergen police. A motorist soon stopped and let the victim use a cell phone but refused to give her a lift.

The victim used the phone to call one of the women who abandoned her, Cannella said. She spent more than an hour in the freezing cold before flagging down another motorist, who took her to a hospital, he said.

The North Bergen woman, whom police did not identify, may need surgery after suffering frostbite to both feet Jan. 16 in Alpine, a town on the Hudson River about 18 miles north of New York City, Cannella said.

"These actions were so profound that it leads you to believe there was a tremendous indifference to human life," Cannella said.

Maria Contreras-Luciano, 22, of Dumont, and Amber Crespo, 20, and Dyanne Velasquez, 21, both of North Bergen, face kidnapping, assault and conspiracy charges and are free on $200,000 bail. Crespo is also charged with making terroristic threats.

The women planned the attack for more than a month, Cannella said. The suspects wanted revenge after the 19-year-old sued Crespo's auto insurance carrier after a car accident, he said, adding that he didn't have details about the accident or claim.

Marvin Walden, attorney for Crespo, said his client had no idea what she was getting into and was not part of any conspiracy. He said the dispute was between one of the other women and the victim and was about a man, not an insurance claim.

"My client thought she was going to a rap concert," Walden said. "There was no intent on her part, or discussion beforehand, about participating in anything resembling a kidnapping."

Attorneys for the two other women did not return telephone calls and e-mails seeking comment Thursday.

The victim arrived at Crespo's home to meet up with the three women and then drive together to a party, according to authorities. She noted that her friends weren't dressed for a party but was reassured by their words and by an evening dress on a hanger inside the car.

The incident didn't come to the attention of police until the victim reported it Jan. 20.

A man identified as Contreras-Luciano's boyfriend was arrested on suspicion of hindering apprehension after he declined to turn his car over to investigators, police said. Police believe his car was used in the attack.

Update To Last Blog

So I am wondering which is worse? The original thought that this poor man lost his life over a thousand dollars or what now seems to be the case. People are so afraid to reach out to each other that no one realized this man, who fought in the South pacific during WWII and won a purple heat for being a medic (someone who helps heal), was in deep need of help in his life. Either way it makes me very sad that this man died in such a painful way. Maybe he had been dieing alone for much longer then it took his physical body. Can we call it living if we have no other human contact in our life? No one to just give us a simple hug or say, "I love you."?

Freezing death of Mich. man in house sparks anger


BAY CITY, Mich. — 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.

Bay 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 Judy 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."

(This version CORRECTS utility name to Bay City Electric Light & Power, not City Electric Light & Power, in 8th paragraph and CORRECTS spokeswoman's first name to Judy, not July, in 21st paragraph.))

This Is Why I Hate The World

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

BAY CITY, Mich. — A 93-year-old man froze to death inside his home just days after the municipal power company restricted his use of electricity because of unpaid bills, officials said.

Marvin E. Schur died "a slow, painful death," said Kanu Virani, Oakland County's deputy chief medical examiner, who performed the autopsy.

Neighbors discovered Schur's body on Jan. 17. They said the indoor temperature was below 32 degrees at the time, The Bay City Times reported Monday.

"Hypothermia shuts the whole system down, slowly," Virani said. "It's not easy to die from hypothermia without first realizing your fingers and toes feel like they're burning."

Schur owed Bay City Electric Light & Power more than $1,000 in unpaid electric bills, Bay City Manager Robert Belleman told The Associated Press on Monday.

A city utility worker had installed a "limiter" device to restrict the use of electricity at Schur's home on Jan. 13, Belleman said. The device limits power reaching a home and blows out like a fuse if consumption rises past a set level. Power is not restored until the device is reset.

The limiter was tripped sometime between the time of installation and the discovery of Schur's body, Belleman said. He didn't know if anyone had made personal contact with Schur to explain how the device works.

Schur's body was discovered by neighbor George Pauwels Jr.

"His furnace was not running, the insides of his windows were full of ice the morning we found him," Pauwels told the newspaper.

Belleman said city workers keep the limiter on houses for 10 days, then shut off power entirely if the homeowner hasn't paid utility bills or arranged to do so.

He said Bay City Electric Light & Power's policies will be reviewed, but he didn't believe the city did anything wrong.

"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."

Schur had no children and his wife had died several years ago.

Bay City is on Saginaw Bay, just north of the city of Saginaw in central Michigan.

crap

Sigh. Another lovely day in my life. Despite trying to avoid any conflict it comes to my door now! Plus we had to walk in the feezing rain today. Just want to be done with all of this.

Yours, K.

Caylee Anthony

Sigh. I just don't get this world sometimes. For many reasons. I'm sorry to say that I was not even a bit surprised when they found Caylee Anthony's body. I knew she was dead. And saddest of all (after reading ext info online) I am convinced her mother had something to do with it. I'm not willing to say that she out right murdered her, but I think, due to some kind of neglect (a lack of parental supervision), she died and her mother got scared and did her best to cover it up.
I am also saddened that this blond haired blue eyed little girl gets so much attention when literally thousands of other children go missing/are murdered and because they don't fall into a certain demographic are ignored. Are their families any less deserving? Are these children any less mourned? Any less longer for?
The world is such a HORRIBLE place. I hate it. I am happy to be in the world but not OF the world. So happy I can teach my son the way things are eternally. Happy to know that our Heavenly Father is there.
I can't imagine going through the loss of a child. period. On top of that I can not imagine not having the benefit of the gospel to lean on in times of utter weakness. I know that knowing the "Plan" does not lessen the hurt or sadness, but I would hope, in time, knowing your child is yours forever might help.
All I can do is hope that non stereotypical American children can find a place into our hearts so that we want to give as much to them and their families in time of need

Gal. 3:28
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

Yours, K.