The Pahrump Town Board will be selecting a new town manager now that the board-approved panel has pared the 35 applicants for a new town manager down to six final candidates.

The initial group had already been pared down to 22 by the time the board held its first April meeting, during which it appointed a panel made up of both community representatives and town administrators. Chairman Laurayne Murray and Vice Chairman John McDonald eliminated the first round of applicants. The town manager position opened up in February when former Pahrump Town Manager Dave Richards resigned to take a position in Hoonah, Alaska.

Richards has since applied to become Nye County's manager.

Town Finance Director Michael Sullivan has served as interim town manager since Richards left.

In compliance with the town's lengthy advertisement for the position, which included character virtues such as "honesty" in the list of needed qualifications, many of the applicants have notable experience working in government.

* Stephen F. Snyder, who has spent the last four years as a consultant for large land development companies, was manager of Lyon County for 14 years, from October 1990 to March 2004.

Snyder spent the 11 years prior to that as city administrator for Evanston, Wyo.

He was also city administrator of Jefferson, Ore., from January 1975 to July 1977.

He earned a master's degree in resource management in 1973 from Oregon State University.

* William A. Kohbarger, city manager of Carlin since August 2000, earned a master's degree in public administration from Bowling Green State University in Ohio in 1994.

He was also village manager of Lincoln Heights, Ohio, from July 1997 to April 1999.

* John R. Schneiger serves as the interim development services director of Eustis, Fla.

He served as the city manager of Montrose, Colo., from 2000 to 2005 and spent the eight years prior to that managing Fruita, Colo.

Schneiger earned a master of business administration degree with a management emphasis from Colorado State University in 1989 and earned a master's degree in urban and regional planning from the University of Wisconsin.

* Gary Rawlins has 26 years' experience in government, including four years as village manager for Dexter, Mich., and 10 years as city manager of Coldwater, Mich.

He was also assistant city manager of Riverview, Mich.

He earned a master's degree in public administration from the University of Hartford, West Hartford, Conn.

* Michael L. Stampler is owner and managing partner of Civicquest Consulting, a Portage, Mich., agency that specializes in government performance improvement.

Prior to that Stampler spent 2005 to 2006 as city manager of Casselberry, Fla., and 1985 to 2005 managing Portage, Mich.

He has earned master's degrees in international study and public administration from Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo

* Gerald W. Forde is the city administrator for McFarland, Calif., and has been since 2006.

He has also been the manager of Livingston and Firebaugh, also in Calif.

He has completed all the course requirements for a master's degree in professional administration.