SURRY – Selectmen will interview six candidates later this month as they work to fill the post of the town’s administrative assistant.

The town received 37 applications for the position left vacant by the resignation of longtime Administrative Assistant Jonathan Thomas. Thomas’ last official day on the job was Sept. 5.

The town has been working with the Maine Municipal Association, which conducted an initial review of the applications and presented the town with 17 prospective candidates for the job.

“I was real pleased with the number of applications we had,” Selectman Wilbur Saunders said Tuesday. “We had applicants from all over the United States.”

The selectmen met last week to review the 17 applications and narrowed the field down to six. Saunders said the board has scheduled interviews on Oct. 21 for all six candidates.

“We hope we’ll be able to get them all in on one day,” he said. “We’re hoping we can do it in one interview. If not, we’ll bring them back for a second interview.”

The process has gone a little slower than anticipated, Saunders said, but selectmen hope to have someone on the job early in November. That will depend on the availability of the chosen candidate, he said.

Meanwhile, the town’s office staff has kept the town office running. Everything has been running smoothly, Saunders said.