Atlas Twp.- It’s not a job or career’it’s a way of life.
That’s the mantra of Genesee County Sheriff Deputy Ron Whitney, a long-time township lawman who after more than 23 years announced his retirement from the department.
‘It’s been an honorable profession,? said Whitney, 58, who will end his stint next week. ‘You’re held to a higher standard.?
Whitney, an Ainsworth High School graduate, learned meat cutting at 23-Market in Flint and later worked for Allied Supermarkets’Kmart Food. The stores closed in 1976, so Whitney moved to Leesburg Fla., and opened his own meat market.
‘That was Ron’s Fine Meats’I kept the store open for about five years. I was getting burned out in that business, it was just not going the way I wanted it to,? said Whitney. ‘I had a part-time Leesburg cop who worked for me in the store’he convinced me I should go through the police academy.?
Whitney was accepted to a police academy in Eustis, Fla., and about halfway through the program he was hired by the Mt. Dora, Fla. police department.
‘I worked in Mt. Dora for awhile and wanted to get back to Michigan where my wife and I had family,? he said. ‘So we settled here in Atlas Township about 1984. That’s when I started to work part-time for the Atlas Township Police Department? 23 years later, I’m still here.?
In 1995, Atlas Township contacted the Genesee County Sheriff’s Department to patrol the area.
‘I was the only one the sheriff’s department kept working here,? laughed Whitney.
‘You enjoy the work’but have to deal with the element of being a law officer. The day-to-day activities, the general public don’t realize the bad people out there in the community. For people to think there’s no drugs in Goodrich or Atlas Township is naive’it’s not the norm.?
Genesee County Sheriff Sgt. David McDonald, a nine-year partner of Whitney, recalls his knowledge of the community.
‘I could not have asked for a better partner,? said McDonald. ‘Ron kept his hand on the pulse of the community’he’s been a great asset to the area and a good man. We’re going to miss him in the township.?
Whitney spent the majority of his time in the township on road patrol.
‘I’ve tried to be fair and meant what I’d say,? said Whitney. ‘It’s been rewarding, but people just don’t change. I’ll miss the work, but I’ve seen a lot in Atlas Township, a lot of bad things’that I won’t miss. The majority of the people have been pretty good. I’ve worked the roads for many years here, I guess you become cynical. Although 90 percent of the work has been routine’still, every time I walk up on a car, you just never know. You don’t think about it at the time, but revert back on your training of what you need to do.?
Genesee County Sheriff Capt. Chris Swanson said they will miss Whitney.
‘Whitney had no double standards in the community,? said Swanson.
‘He lived his life with respect for the badge. When he responded to the call, he would get to the core of the problem.?