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HEMSPN theft trial delayed again

LISBON — Sherri Phillips, the former secretary and financial aid officer at the Hannah Mullins School of Practical Nursing in Salem several years ago, had her trial pushed back another three months due to health problems.

Phillips, 49, Longs Crossing Road, Leetonia, appeared in Columbiana County Common Pleas Court on Tuesday walking with the aid of a cane and in apparent pain. Her defense attorney, Colleen Hall Dailey, requested a continuance of the trial, which had been scheduled to begin Tuesday.

This was the seventh time Phillips’ trial has been postponed, several related to her continual health issues. Phillips was indicted in 2013, charged with theft in office after the state auditor’s office issued a finding for recovery against Phillips in the amount of $23,440. She had worked at the nursing school for 15 years, before it was determined money was missing.

Documentation for 60 receipts totaling $16,230 were found as recorded into the nursing school receipt book beginning on Aug. 17, 2010 through Sept. 3, 2010. However, the money was never deposited with the Salem school treasurer’s office.

Nursing school students also provided state examiners with duplicate receipts totaling another $7,210 they paid but were never deposited.

As the financial aid officer, Phillips’ was responsible in part for collecting student fees and tuition and depositing the money with the Salem school treasurer, who was the one who first detected the discrepancies in 2010. The superintendent was later alerted, and he contacted the state auditor.

At this point, Phillips is scheduled for a jury trial on Jan. 11, after Judge C. Ashley Pike agreed to the motion to postpone.

“We’ll continue the bond and wish you the best with your health challenges,” Pike said.

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