Sean C. Morgan
Of The New Era
After working nearly all her adult life as Sweet Home Municipal Court clerk, Donna Poirier is moving on.
Poirier, 47, started working 16 years ago in the city of Sweet Home’s Finance Department. She started spending some of her time working in the Municipal Court with Jackie DeBord and when DeBord retired, Poirier went full time.
Poirier’s last day will be Dec. 14. She starts her new job on Dec. 17.
“I’m excited about the technology and the opportunity for advancement,” she said.
She and her husband, Rob Poirier, have both been active volunteers within the Sweet Home community, including work with the Sweet Home Economic Development Group, the Oregon Jamboree and as Santa and Mrs. Claus in recent years.
Rob Poirier took a post as manager of the Santiam Canyon 911 in Stayton in July, leaving his position as support manager at Lebanon Police Department. The Poiriers will move to the Stayton-Aumsville-Sublimity area.
“The ultimate plan is to have a house big enough for everything, a small yard and two Harleys in the garage,” Donna Poierier said.
They have roots in Sweet Home, and both plan to stay involved in some local activities, such as the Oregon Jamboree, where they are co-supervisors of the sign team, Poirier said.
“I will be back a lot,” she promised.
She has a daughter and two granddaughters living in Sweet Home.
Poirier moved to Sweet Home when she was in the fifth grade, she said. After growing up here, she spent some time in Bend and Portland before returning. She has lived in Sweet Home for 18 years since moving back.
“I love the community,” she said. “I love the people in it.”
Her reasons are the same as everyone else, she said. She loves the beautiful area, great location and people-oriented community.
She appreciated working for the Municipal Court, she said. It gave her numerous opportunities for training, and every day is always different. Poirier also has served as president of the Oregon Association for Court Administrators.
“You come to work with one expectation,” she said, but the job changes throughout the day, for example when a prisoner is in custody and the court needs to deal with him or her.
“It’s interesting,” she said. “And not everybody is cut out for it.”
Poirier first got into working for the court by taking small jobs for DeBord, she recalled last week.
“Didn’t I say one day, I was bored, Pat?” she joked with her supervisor, Pat Gray.
“I haven’t said that since then. I had no idea I wanted to get into this,” she added, but after 16 years, she’s not bored.
“I like just learning all of the legal aspects of it,” Poirier said. “And what do I hate about it? Learning all the legal aspects.”
The laws change every two years with the legislative session, she said, and that makes things kind of tricky.
“I love being in the courtroom, not so much the data entry,” she said. It’s a constant learning experience.
“Since I’ve been here, we’re on our fourth judge,” Poirier said. “And we’ve had a couple of pro tems in between.”
She’s really excited about the change, she said, but “it’s kind of bittersweet after you work somewhere for so long. You get kind of like family.”
“Sweet Home will be missing a dedicated employee and community volunteer when Donna leaves,” Gray said.