FAIRFIELD — A retired Pittsfield town manager will fill in as the Fairfield town manager until councilors hire a replacement for Paul Blanchette, who died unexpectedly on Saturday.

The Town Council held a special meeting this morning to hire Dwight Dogherty, who will begin working Tuesday.

Dogherty, 73, served as town manager in Pittsfield for 18 years before retiring in 2002. Since then, he’s served as the interim town manager in Norridgewock and Clinton.

Council Chairman Edward Stevens said Deputy Town Manager Cynthia Tuttle would have taken over in the interim, but she’s going on medical leave in two weeks and will be away from the office for more than a month.

Stevens said he expects to hire a permanent manager within a couple of months.

Blanchette, 52, had been manager for 10 years. Town employees on Sunday said that his health seemed to  have improved since having a kidney transplant last year and that his death came as a shock. He apparently died of a heart attack.


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