The proceedings at the Soldotna City Council meeting April 10 would have been enough to warrant a "Ssshhhhing" from the city librarian — what with bursts of applause, strongly worded admonitions, occasionally raised voices, teary testimonials, desk thumps for emphasis and unhappy grumbles from the packed crowd — had the librarian, a 28-year employee of the city, not been unexpectedly fired first thing the preceding Monday morning, which is what drew the crowd and its outrage to the council meeting.
Terri Burdick, director of the Joyce K. Carver Soldotna Public Library, said that she was dismissed with no warning and no explanation by City Manager Mark Dixson the morning of April 8, before she had a chance to bring in the large, stuffed dinosaur and other accouterments for the library's upcoming summer reading program she had picked up — on her dime — in Anchorage over the weekend.
Anchorage