From AP, Jan. 27

Tony Klimko, longtime Valley News Dispatch reporter, dies at 62. 

Tony Klimko, a reporter at the Valley News Dispatch for more than 30 years, has died.

Klimko, of Mount Oliver, died Jan. 25 at Jefferson Regional Medical Center. He was 62. The cause of death was not given.

"Tony was a curmudgeon with a heart of gold," said Tribune-Review Publishing Co. Managing Editor Bob Fryer. "He would view that word curmudgeon as flattering. He liked to be seen as the tough, surly, hard-nosed reporter. But he loved nothing more than helping a young reporter learn the ropes."

Klimko was best known for his work as a bureau reporter in Allegheny and Armstrong counties, where he developed a reputation as a street-wise police and courts reporter with contacts dating back decades. He was well known for his thorough coverage of Stanley Hoss, an inmate who escaped from the Allegheny County Workhouse in Blawnox in 1969 and later killed at least four people.

As a child, Klimko was fond of crime, spy and war stories.

"He really liked covering the police beat," said his sister, Margaret Klimko. "He liked criminals and politicians. I don't know if he really saw much of a difference between the two."

At age 39, Klimko suffered a stroke. He underwent triple-bypass surgery three years later after a minor heart attack.

He left the newspaper in 2001 as a result of medical complications.