Hazel Park, Michigan retiree dies of hypothermia after gas shutoff
Funeral services were held Monday for John Skelley Jr., age 69, a retired factory worker who died of hypothermia February 1, after his gas was shut off by regional power monopoly Consumers Energy at his home in Hazel Park, a working class suburb just outside of Detroit.
Skelley, a Vietnam War veteran, was living with a roommate at the time, who owed an outstanding balance of $760.28. According to published reports, Consumers disconnected service on January 19, in the midst of a bitterly cold Midwest winter. The Michigan Public Services Commission (MPSA) says the state has a policy prohibiting the shutoff of services in winter to those over age 65. The state of Michigan, has now ordered Consumers to issue a report over the incident.
Hazel Park police reported that they found Skelley unresponsive, huddled under blankets next to a space heater. The medical examiner ruled that hypothermia was a major factor in his death. The high temperature was 18 Fahrenheit (minus 8 Celsius) the day he died, with a low of 2 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 19 Celsius).
Skelley is survived by five children and seven grandchildren. According to family, Skelley worked for 30 years at Phoenix Wire Cloth, a stainless steel wire mesh manufacturer. He was suffering from throat cancer at the time of his death, which undoubtedly weakened his resistance to the cold. He had been recently estranged from family members, who were unsure of his whereabouts.
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http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2015/02/18/util-f18.html
Freedom...to die freezing in the richest country on Earth, after serving your country.
= new reply since forum marked as read
Too bad this 69-year parasite didn't know how to leech off the system better. In Detroit, there's an outfit called THAW -- The Heat And Warmth Fund -- that helps lazy turds and slackers skip paying the gas company.
Ha ha ha. Maybe in the next world he'll live in Florida.
And maybe half the rent/expenses/groceries/utilities come from someone who may not have been able to work for months if not years.
Your complete lack of empathy makes me wonder if you are posting on the wrong, let's say political leaning, website.
Mentions Michigan Law that prohibits cutting off seniors. That might be a start.
A vet????!!! A senior with cancer???!!! Hypothermia???!!!
There's plenty of blame to go around, but it comes down to (IMHO) the fact that the 1%ers are greedy bastards and they spit on the "little people" who end up fighting over the crumbs.
This country is insane.
and I have to wonder under what ignorant, ridiculous and moronic grounds would lead you to that conclusion?
First, I have no stake in Consumer's whatever it is. I live in Texas, and I have no interest whatever in Michigan regulatory affairs.
Second, I was not defending Consumers. You will note in my posts I only brought up legal and regulatory points, and nowhere did I say they should have done what they did. You, and others, read that into my comments all by yourselves.
Thirdly, to surmise that the only reason one would have to comment on the article, or to, as you say, defend, Consumers, is if I had a stake in the company is just asinine. Don't you have some things you would comment on or defend on their merits, without having a "stake" in the company? (You don't have to answer that. I'd rather not hear any more from you.)
Nobody should die "in the richest country in the world." 
Mind the spittle. Really gets to you, huh? 
But you're right. Walker will very likely jump on that if he finds a neuron in his microscopic excuse for a brain to understand it.
Did you hear the one about the family who drove up there from Kentucky? They saw a sign that read "Hazel Park Left".
So they turned around and went back to Kentucky. 
>>Meanwhile, the Obama administration has imposed cuts to the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, (LIHEAP) whose funds have been reduced by 30 percent since 2009. The White House plans to freeze LIHEAP in next year’s budget at its current level.
and ...
>>Tanya’s half-brother Adam added, “I think it is sad that a veteran froze to death over monetary issues. I think there should be a program in place to help those who cannot provide for themselves.
*************
Looks like the VA paid for his funeral is my guess (flag on the coffin indicative of it). Once again, the great system out there failed this poor man as the Wall Street criminals walk away not even noticing nor caring! 
I wonder what the VA might have to say (if anything about this?).
RIP Sir! 
Yeah, in this "new" America, a debt of $760 can get you killed.
Springtime...there's a lots of people standing in line to pay the gas and/or electric bill. I mean a whole bunch of people. I assume people have gotten their income tax return and that's when they pay the bill. And not a minute too soon. 
