WILKES-BARRE, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — Wilkes-Barre Crime Watch president Charlotte Raup has organized and taken part in patrols, conducted community events, even raised funds for Wilkes-Barre Police’s first K9 unit. Wednesday at City Hall, Charlotte was honored for her work as she begins a new chapter in her life.
A round of applause for a job well done.
“Today, you don’t see too many people committed as much as she was,” Wilkes-Barre Mayor Tony George said.
She is Charlotte Raup, the president of the Wilkes-Barre Crime Watch Coalition for the past 25 years. And she hasn’t taken her position lightly. But now after two and a half decades, Charlotte’s watch has ended.
“I am retiring if you want to call it that,” Raup said.
But her departure from her position didn’t go unnoticed. On Wednesday morning, Wilkes-Barre city officials gathered in City Council chambers to honor Charlotte for all she’s done to keep the area safe.
A day in her honor and a key to the city. But for Wilkes-Barre’s hardest-working watchdog, the real reward would be to see the program thrive, even in her absence.
“The younger folks are going to take over and I hope they have the passion that I had,” Raup said.
Passion and the desire to connect and work together to keep making Wilkes-Barre better and safer. Raup says she’s looking forward to spending time with her husband and cats in her retirement.
