NORWICH – After 30 years of dedicated service as director of the Chenango County Probation Department, Laureen Clarke has retired – leaving Donielle Balstra to fill the role of acting probation director.
Clarke cited Balstra’s leadership and organizational skills as the main reason she chose her to take the reins. Balstra has worked in probation for seven years and holds a master’s degree in criminal justice and criminology.
The goal of the department, however, was to hire a permanent director, but Clarke said there were some state requirements that they were unable to fulfill.
“The state requires someone with two years of experience in a supervisory position within the department ... as well as other civil service exam criteria,” she said. Clarke added that in this case the state granted a temporary waiver so Balstra would be able to fill the position until a permanent replacement was found.
The Chenango County Personnel Committee approved a resolution to go to the full board stating that Balstra’s previous position as a probation officer remain open for her in the case that a permanent director is found.
However, Clarke also mentioned that if after two years a replacement is not found, a permanent waiver may be requested by the department.
Balstra explained that the first two objectives she would tackle in her new role will learning everything that needs to be done with her new responsibilities and hiring two new probation officer trainees and a program aide. She said the requirements needed to apply for these positions are a bachelors degree with 30 credit hours in human services.
“It will be hard to fill Laureen’s shoes,” said Balstra. “But I am very excited about the new opportunities.”
As for Clarke, she explained her next step was to relax and enjoy the holidays before finding something else to occupy her time.
“I’m excited for the department,” she said. “It will be a fresh start and [Donielle] is a very capable leader.”