A visit to the Schuylkill County courthouse on any given day would find Al Dietz hustling down a hallway, a sheaf of papers clutched to his chest and a smile on his face.

"He was everywhere," says President Judge William Baldwin. "He certainly gave the impression of a much younger man his energy level was always high."Dietz died Friday in Schuylkll Medical Center-East Norwegian Street, Pottsville.Though he was ill, the 92-year-old wrote an election story for the Times New just a few weeks ago.Baldwin knew Dietz for a good 30 years.Dietz, who covered Schuylkill County for the Times News for many years, was well-known on the second floor of the courthouse."You would always see Al around the courthouse, covering everything. He always wanted to get it right. He would pursue the story until he was sure he had all the facts correct before he would jump the gun and write it," Baldwin said."He's going to be missed."In his long career, Dietz worked for the Pottsville Journal, 1953-1962, and the Pottsville Republican from 1962 to 1995.Dietz covered the court news for six papers: Ashland News, Shenandoah Evening Herald, Tamaqua Courier, Mahanoy City Record, Hazleton Standard Speaker and the Times News.He was a freelance reporter for the Harrisburg Patriot News, Philadelphia Inquirer and the Reading Times.Among his lead stories, he covered the Lillian Reese Trial (robbery of John Rich) for the German Magazine "Der Spiegle."He covered three presidents' visits to Pottsville: Truman, Kennedy and Nixon.Dietz retired from the Treasury Office in 1983.Commissioners Chairman Frank J. Staudenmeier saw Dietz at least once a week at the board meetings."I knew Al well for the last 12 years. It was always a pleasure working with him," Staudenmeier said."You had Al Dietz the reporter, and then you had Al Dietz the person. On the reporter side, Al was always very fair. He didn't try to make the news, he just wrote the news. He was a pleasure to be around. He was a true gentleman," he said.As a person, Staudenmeier said, Dietz was down-to-earth and free of pretense, honestly interested in how others were doing, asking about family and chatting about sports."We would compare golf games. It amazed me that at 91 he was still out hitting golf balls," he said. "He was a real, genuine person. He'll be missed."First deputy prothonotary Faye M. Guyeski remembers Dietz as "always a gentleman.""I'm here almost 31 years, and I never ever saw Al in a bad mood. He was also very intelligent," she says.Guyeski said she and her co-workers loved to hear Dietz share details of his favorite leisure activity."His golf games would crack us up," she says. "Al never had a bad word to say about anyone. He lived for his family, he enjoyed his family to the fullest. He was very professional. He will be missed."