FARMINGTON — Franklin County commissioners voted Tuesday to hire Lorna Nichols as the cook supervisor for the jail.

“She rose to the top of all the applicants,” Maj. Doug Blauvelt told commissioners.

Nichols, of New Sharon, is the wife of Sheriff Scott Nichols Sr. and the mother of Scott Nichols Jr., a corrections officer of the jail.

Blauvelt is the immediate supervisor for cook supervisor, a nonunion position, county Clerk Julie Magoon said. If a personnel grievance was filed, it would first go to Blauvelt and then commissioners, she said.

The chain of command for a corrections officer would be the supervising officer at the jail, then Blauvelt and then Chief Deputy Steven Lowell, county officials previously said.

Sheriff Nichols does not supervise either position. There would be no nepotism, Magoon said.

Lorna Nichols has experience with budgets, strong supervising skills and building a restaurant from the ground up, Blauvelt said. She is also certified in food safety. She will be involved in cooking and making menus, among other tasks.

She and family members ran a restaurant in New Sharon for several years.

Her starting pay will be $13.51 an hour.

Interviews for the cook and part-time cooks are scheduled for Wednesday.

Commissioners also voted to hire a part-time and four full-time corrections officers.

Hired full-time were Bridget Pinkham of Phillips, Billie Martin of Madison, Brandon Sholan of Farmington and Ethan Keys of Wilton. Richard Dubois of Smithfield was hired part time.

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