Volunteer spotlight: Anna White
Story and photo by Chris Fitzgerald

There is one person Pat Latshaw, president of Citizens Against Crime/Citizens’ Patrol, can call day or night when she needs someone — now. That person is Anna White.

A charter member since the group formed on Jan. 11, 1988, White is one of two members remaining of that original gathering. In the ensuing 17 years, she consistently donated her time, automobile and gas to patrol the Key Peninsula from the Purdy Spit to Devil’s Head.

She prefers the wee morning hour shifts. “I’m up half the night anyway. And it’s usually kind of peaceful out,” she said.

CAC/CP members patrol in teams of two, do not use or carry weapons, and do not intervene in observed criminal activity. They are the extra eyes and ears of the Pierce County Sheriff’s Peninsula Detachment. Calls from them for immediate police assistance are quickly routed to the appropriate responders. White’s team has monitored traffic with miles-per-hour electronic signs, helped direct traffic, and provided auxiliary security for events, including the Key Peninsula Fair.

White started volunteering when her sons needed Cub Scout help. Today she also belongs to the Eagle’s Auxiliary. She is a grandmother of three and a great-grandmother. She has four-legged kids at home, two border-collie pups, DeeDee and Neil. And, she adds with a laugh, “a cockatiel who calls everybody ‘turkey.’”

White has no plans to scale back her commitment to keeping the peninsula safe. “I get a good feeling helping people,” she said. Adds Latshaw, “Rain or shine, Anna’s always there. We’re lucky to have her.”
 

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