WALHALLA — Former Oconee County Administrator Dale K. Surrett is apparently looking for work just a few hours drive away from his Lake Keowee home.

Reliable sources told the Daily Journal/Messenger that Surrett, who was terminated from his Oconee County job in April, is one of 18 candidates who applied for the administrator job in Edgefield County nestled north of Aiken County and west of Lexington County.

The Daily Journal/Messenger learned that Edgefield County officials made inquiries in Oconee surrounding the nature of Surrett’s dismissal.

Edgefield County Interim Administrator Barbara Stark said Friday that County Council is maintaining the names of the applicants confidential until it releases the top-three finalists during an executive session meeting called for Wednesday.

Edgefield officials launched the search earlier this month after former Ad-ministrator John Petti-grew resigned.

Surrett and the Oconee County Council signed a settlement agreement in May that paid Surrett 18 months severance pay based on his pay rate of $106,000 a year.

The county also agreed to pay Surrett’s benefits for himself and his dependents for a year. Those benefits would cease if Surrett obtains employment that provides benefits equal or better to what Oconee provides.

For his part, Surrett agreed in the settlement to basically go away quietly. He also gave up any legal claims and promised not to disparage Council.

It’s not uncommon for county administrators who have been shown the door in one county to resurface in another place, said veteran Laurens County Administrator Ernie Segars.

“Usually, if the administrator is let go for political reasons, there’s opportunities in some other places,” said Segars, a rare breed with his more than two decades as the top county boss in a profession where the average stint of an administrator is four years.

Segars was a finalist for the Oconee administrator job in 2007, but eventually withdrew his name. He said he owes his longevity on the job, in part, to his roots in that Laurens that go back generations.

Oconee County has zeroesd its search to find a replacement for Surrett to four candidates — Hal Mason, a former city administrator in Hanahan near Charleston; Walter Munchheimer, the ex-director of Financial Management in Palm Beach County, Fla.; Leonard Sossamon, former Newberry County, administrator; and William Watson, who currently is director of personnel in Union County, N.C.

The four Oconee candidates are waiting for personal interviews and tours of the county to be scheduled.