LISBON - The Columbiana County Health Board accepted the resignation of Robert Morehead as health commissioner effective 4 p.m. Dec. 11, then appointed nursing supervisor Barb Knee as acting administrator during a special meeting Friday.

Board chairman Dr. Jack Amato said he'll appoint a search committee to begin the task of finding a new health commissioner when the board members meet again at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday for their regular monthly meeting.

The 58-year-old Wellsville resident submitted his resignation two days after pleading guilty to theft in office Tuesday for misusing the county health district credit card for personal purchases. He didn't attend the special meeting.

He could face a maximum term of 12 months in prison when he's sentenced Feb. 13 in Common Pleas Court for the fifth-degree felony charge. He could have faced more prison time if he had been convicted of the indictment instead of entering a plea agreement.

He was originally charged with a fourth-degree felony charge of theft in office, one count of theft and five counts of forgery, all fifth-degree felonies, with a possible maximum penalty of seven and a half years in prison.

As part of the deal, he was ordered to resign his position and pay $2,022 in restitution, which was the difference from what he had already paid back for about $4,900 worth of illegal purchases. Even if the resignation hadn't been part of the agreement, he would have been forced to leave the job since a conviction for theft in office bars someone from holding a position of trust.

"I still don't believe Bob is a thief. Sloppy bookkeeping maybe, but a thief, no," Amato said.

He said the board was unaware that he was making personal purchases with the credit card, but as soon as they became aware, they put a stop to it. They also enacted new policies regarding purchases and travel when word of the problem first came out back in 2004.

Amato said the only reason the district had a credit card to begin with was because of the county's financial situation several years ago when they had employees waiting four or five months at a time for reimbursement for business-related purchases.

Morehead's career with the health department began in 1987 as health educator, then he became fiscal officer and was named interim health commissioner in March 1990 and administrator in November 1990. He became health commissioner in 1992.

The charge against him covered a period from Dec. 10, 1996, through Feb. 19, 2004, when he used his position to commit theft through the misuse of the health district credit card, which he used for personal purchases of books, gasoline and other items. He previously claimed some of the items were health department-related and that he reimbursed the department for the purchases that were personal.

He officially retired on Feb. 29, but continued working under contract with the health board. According to the county Auditor's Office, Morehead received a check of $25,903 for his accrued vacation time and $41,404 for his accrued sick time when he retired.

His regular pay check totaled $3,454 every two weeks even after he retired and was collecting from the Public Employees Retirement System. His total pay from the county health department as of the last pay totaled $84,628. With his pay and the accumulated sick time and vacation time combined, his total income from the county so far this year totals $152,627.

When asked about the credentials needed for a health commissioner, Amato said they'll have to research their options. No rate of compensation was discussed for the additional duties Knee will have as acting administrator. He said they may discuss that on Wednesday. Knee has been with the health department for 26 years, serving the last 14 years as nursing supervisor.

According to Ohio Revised Code, " The person appointed as commissioner shall be a licensed physician, licensed dentist, a licensed veterinarian, licensed podiatrist, licensed chiropractor, or the holder of a master's degree in public health or an equivalent master's degree in a related health field as determined by the members of the board of health in a general health district."

Morehead had a bachelor's degree in history with a minor in English at the College of Wooster, a master's degree in Educational Administration at Youngstown State University and a Masters of Health Education degree from Kent State University.

The law also said that when the commissioner isn't a physician, the board must have a physician serving as medical director. Amato serves as medical director besides being chairman of the board.