MARCH 5, 2021, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A3
‘She gave out
second chances’
City plans
memorial
fund for
peer court
director
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
Keizer’s Peer Court lost its
most fi erce advocate to brain
cancer in February, but the
city and her friends are mak-
ing sure her work is never for-
gotten.
Cari Emery Coleman,
the program coordinator for
youth court since its incep-
tion in 2004, likely affected
the lives of thousands of lo-
cal teens and family members
who supported them as they
passed through the diversion
program. On Monday, March
1, the Keizer City Council ap-
proved the establishment of a
memorial fund that will con-
tinue to benefi t the city’s peer
court.
“Keizer has lost a great as-
set,” said Tim Wood, Keizer fi -
nance director and Coleman’s
supervisor as an employee of
the city. “She gave out sec-
ond chances in a world that
doesn’t give out a lot of sec-
ond chances.”
Cari Emery Coleman
The court, made up of
volunteer youth jurists, help
determine sanctions for other
minors charged with low-lev-
el offenses or otherwise eli-
gible for diversion programs.
of the Week
presented by
JANE LOWERY
Where and how do you volunteer?
Keizer Chamber, KeizerFEST, Keizer First Citizens Banquet, Percey
Presents which raises funds for the Giving Basket program. As a Keizer
Rotarian, I help with many of the club’s community projects. I volunteer
at the summer concerts at Keizer Rapids Park, help Liberty House with
their events and the Boys and Girls Club for their Cinco de Mayo event.
One of must rewarding volunteering experiences was helping at the state
fairgrounds with the animals aft er the Canyon fi res.
How would you get others to volunteer
in their community?
I get my whole team at Willamette Valley Bank involved. Together we
participate in most of all the Chamber events, we take pictures, we share
with our customers. I would encourage people to volunteer as a team, be
it your work, or as a family, volunteering is wonderful way to bond with
who you know along with meeting new liked minded people.
“Sentences” can run the gam-
ut from enrolling in training
courses to determining the
appropriate venue for com-
munity service. The Keizer
court serves youth ages 12-17.
Approximately 80% of mi-
nors who have passed through
the Keizer court successfully
complete the program and
have their records expunged.
After a transition period,
the court will continue in
Keizer. Those with current
cases are being contacted in-
dividually.
City Manager Chris Ep-
pley, borrowing a statement
from Keizer Police Depart-
ment Chief John Teague, said
“He said peer court is not just
important, it’s a moral impera-
tive. It’s imperative to give the
kids a chance to travel down a
new path and away from the
criminal justice system.”
The request to establish a
memorial fund in Coleman’s
name came in the form of a
letter to the city council from
a group of Coleman’s friends
and supporters.
“Cari has directly impact-
ed thousands of Keizer youth,
their families and the com-
munity through her leader-
ship and vision by providing
restorative justice and com-
munity building,” the group
wrote.
In a statement posted on
the Keizer peer court’s Face-
book page, Coleman is re-
membered as a tireless sup-
porter of the court’s mission.
“She truly poured herself
into peer court and believed
in our program. She will be
greatly missed by all,” the
statement read.
Scott Peterson, CEO of
Global Youth Justice, Inc., said
he had no idea Coleman was
battling cancer.
“Cari was one of the best
and I know thousands of
adults who run these pro-
grams, and she was among my
most favorite,” Peterson said
in a comment to the post an-
nouncing her passing.
Upon creation of the fund,
which is not yet fi nal, friends
and family will be able to col-
lect donations. Donations will
be held indefi nitely with the
investment income used to
support the ongoing opera-
tion of the city’s peer court.
Signatories to the letter re-
questing the memorial fund
were: Dean and Mickey Lan-
sing Luehrs, Tim Davis, Dick
Withnell, Jeff and Aimee Car-
ter, Darci Dance, Ron and
Linda Menser, and Jeff and
Pam Vale.
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