Donald Diebold, the elected treasurer and tax collector for Scott since 1994 and a longtime member of the community's political scene, is retiring.

Scott commissioners Tuesday accepted his retirement, effective Dec. 31 -- one year before the end of his fourth term as treasurer/tax collector.

Mr. Diebold, 76, did not attend Tuesday's meeting but said afterward in a phone interview that health problems forced his retirement. He had a stroke in 2000 and has difficulty walking.

"I just want to take it easy. I've been thinking about this," he said, adding he loved his job and the people he worked with and encountered.

The feeling appears to be reciprocated.

"He was the first person I met when I moved to Scott," recalled Commissioner Jean O'Toole. She said Mr. Diebold, who was working as a milkman at that time, stopped by to try to gain a new customer and ended up fixing her thermostat and giving her a quart of chocolate milk and cigarettes. Years later, Mrs. O'Toole would become a tax office employee.

Mr. Diebold served as commissioner from 1972 to 1994 and took over the helm of the Scott Democratic Party after Eddie Stevens stepped down in 1990. He had served as a Democratic committeeman since 1968.

Mr. Diebold was president of the South Hills Area Council of Governments in 1980 and president of St. John's Lutheran Church in Carnegie that same year.

The accomplishment of which he is most proud is the rebuilding of the former crooked bridge -- a span with a sharp turn -- that joined Scrubgrass Road and Main Street with Bower Hill Road.

"Everybody said it couldn't be done, but we needed it to connect the two parts of the township," he said, recalling the weeklong hearing held by the state Public Utility Commission that resulted in the state, county and two railroads helping to pick up the cost to straighten and repave the span. It's now known the Scott Township Veterans Memorial Bridge.

The bridge's rejuvenation, which was completed in October 1993 -- more than 11 years after Scott officials closed it because of its deteriorated condition -- cost township taxpayers under $20,000 he said.

At the time of its completion, an elated Mr. Diebold said, "There were times I thought it would never be done. There were so many monkey wrenches."

Anyone interested in finishing Mr. Diebold's term should submit a resume to the township. The position will be on the ballot in 2009.