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Sterling Paramedic Fired After Racist Facebook Post

A town paramedic has been fired following a hearing into racist posts she reportedly made on Facebook.

According to the Telegram, Linda Kimball was suspended from her job earlier in the week after a post was seen on her Facebook page regarding the recent National Football League player protests of the national anthem which used racist language to describe players taking a knee.

Kimball's employment was officially terminated on Wednesday following a closed-door meeting with the fire chief and town administrator, according to the town's fire department.

Kimball's husband, Mark Kimball, will also be required by the town to attend sensitivity training after coming to his wife's defense on Facebook, the Telegram reported.

The town reportedly found that while Mark Kimball's remarks were strongly worded, they were not racist. However, he reportedly was found to have violated the town's policy of employees not posting anything to social media that relate to their jobs. In Mark's case, his Facebook profile picture depicted him wearing a firefighting helmet at the time of his comment. The Telegram reports he is currently taking personal time off.

"I wish to reiterate that the members of the Sterling Fire Department do not share the views expressed by Ms. Kimball in her post," wrote Fire Chief David Hurlbut, "and will continue to serve all members of the public with the utmost respect and professionalism."

Linda Kimball reportedly has also been fired from Vital EMS, a private ambulance company based out of Worcester.

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