FORT SMITH, Ark – A Circuit Court official who helped push the county’s legal system into the 21st century retires at the end of the year.
Circuit Clerk Denora Coomer will end her 37 years as the Sebastian County Circuit Clerk and former Court Administrator at the end of December. Coomer in her career helped the Circuit Court establish its drug court program, organize arraignments and move from the old courthouse to the courts building.
She will be replaced by Deputy Circuit Clerk Cindy Gilmer. Another circuit clerk will be determined in the 2022 midterm elections.
Coomer first joined the circuit court in 1984 after moving to Fort Smith from Colorado with her husband. She was previously involved in the court system in the Boulder, Colo. Area.
She became Court Administrator after former managing public defender John Settle turned her down for a secretary job at the Sebastian County Public Defender’s Office.