LIVERMORE FALLS – A former public works employee was rehired Friday to fill a vacant equipment operator’s position at $14.15 an hour after Billy Nichols was named foreman of the department.

Ten applicants sought the job and the search committee chose Warren Smith to fill the position, Town Manager Martin Puckett said Tuesday.

Smith had previously worked for the Livermore Falls Sewer Department and then Public Works Department before he took a job at a paper mill, Puckett said.

On the committee were select board Chairwoman Jackie Knight, Nichols, Sewer Department Superintendent Kent Mitchell, Puckett and Town Clerk/Treasurer Kristal Flagg.

Puckett said he has been using a search committee recently for new hires and it’s going well. You get different perspectives from each department member, he said.