Marvin Schur is dead.

Not because an enemy inflicted a mortal wound during combat but because of the municipal policy, arrogance, insolence and plain stupidity of Bay City, Mich. government officials.

Combat veteran Marvin Schur survived World War II, but he could not survive the advancing enemy of freezing temperatures that took over his house.

The severe cold, typical of winter in so many sections of the United States, did not the breach the walls of his Central Michigan house. Instead, the enemy stealthily materialized and attacked from within the walls, permitted to enter by the power company owned by the Bay City, Mich. government that cut off his electricity. This tragedy should never have happened.

When one is apprised of what this Michigan government reportedly does in situations where a resident is behind in their electricity payments, one can see this was indeed a tragedy just waiting to happen. The fact that it did happen stands as evidence of the callous disregard and what may be gross negligence of city personnel. Here’s what Bay City reportedly did in the case of childless widower Mr. Schur.

Bay City ordered the electric meter removed from the outside of the Schur home, and replaced the meter with a “limiter” device to “restrict his use of power.” When (sometime during the night) the “limiter” had “apparently reached its limit,” the device automatically cut off all electricity to the Schur residence, shutting down the furnace and blower system, turning the house into a freezer within hours.

Schur’s body was discovered by neighbors who told the local Bay City Times newspaper that “the indoor temperature was below 32 degrees at the time.”

Neighbor George Pauwels said, “His (Schur’s) furnace was not running, the insides of his windows were full of ice the morning we found him.”

As a result, “Marvin E. Schur died a slow, painful death,” said Kanu Virani, who performed the autopsy. The Oakland County (Michigan) deputy chief medical examiner added, “Hypothermia shuts the whole system down, slowly. It’s not easy to die from hypothermia without first realizing your fingers and toes feel like they’re burning.”

In other words, if the 93-year-old Mr. Schur experienced those burning sensations in his hands and feet, we might expect that he would have exited the freezer-like conditions inside his home or telephoned for help. But, Mr. Schur’s telephone service was also out. And, hypothermia causes disorientation. Still, Mr. Schur obviously attempted to fight the severe cold as best he could. When found, his body had multiple layers of clothes. On the kitchen table, neighbor Jim Herndon found the last “electric bill with cash attached for payment.”

As Americans learn about what happened to Mr. Schur, almost all express outrage. Typically, most people jump to a conclusion based on their own prior perceptions, too often, without all relevant information. And, it didn’t take long for both political and social partisans to find cause and place blame based on their chosen agendas.

“Bay City Manager Robert Belleman said that he was ‘deeply saddened’ by Schur’s death … (and) He also said ‘neighbors have a responsibility to each other.” Belleman went on, “I've said this before and some of my colleagues have said this: Neighbors need to keep an eye on neighbors.”

Does City Manager Belleman realize what he disclosed with that statement? As city manager, he did not consider Mr. Schur and presumably other residents as neighbors. Or, that he, as city manager, is too far removed (could that be above) to see Mr. Schur as a Bay City neighbor. Since Belleman and others in the city administration failed his own test of neighborliness as well as any objective test of serving Mr. Schur as a Bay City customer, client, or taxpayer, much less as a human-being, there is at least one certain conclusion: Bay City, Mich. needs to find a new city manager. While the search for a replacement is under way, it appears from the record, that the people would actually be safer and better served if the position became vacant immediately.

The obfuscation that continues in Michigan will not dilute the shame, blame and responsibility of officials in Bay City. Installing an arbitrary automatic limiter device is an undeniable irresponsible act. Every individual affiliated with any entity, public or private, whose operational recklessness, greed and incompetence causes the death of a person must be held accountable. Since the Supreme Court has defined a corporate entity as a “person,” Bay City government is the corporate person that must be held criminally accountable for causing the death of Marvin E. Schur.

A Michigan state grand jury must convene this month to hear testimony from the Bay City mayor through to the installer of the “limiter.” This should out more facts. Indictments are warranted for all those culpable. The charge is involuntary manslaughter due to criminal negligence. The American public must not permit any level of government to be used to shield the perpetrators.

Richard Olivastro is a member of the National Speakers Association, president of Olivastro Communications and founder of Citizens For Change. He can be reached at Rich@Olivastro.NET or 877.RichSpeaks.