I don’t have a radio in my car, and it’s actually been a while since I’ve listened to Gerry House and his “House Foundation” on WSIX, but I have to say that this news is truly lousy. Newscaster Al Voecks and sportscaster Duncan Stewart are being let go, apparently to be replaced by some minimum-wage college grad who will do both news and sports.

I have never met Voecks face-to-face, but I won a Polaroid camera in the mid-1970s when he was the newscaster for Pat Sajak’s show on WSM-AM. (Yes, for you out-of-towners, that Pat Sajak. He was a weatherman and DJ in Nashville before moving to L.A.) Voecks and Sajak would kibbutz a while at 3:30 every day, before Voecks’ newscast, and they decided to hold a “name the 3:30 segment” contest. I forget the grand prize; my camera was a runner-up prize, for my ingenious entry “The 3:30 Segment.”

Many years later, Voecks and a cameraman spent the day with my father taping a piece about Dad’s ship models for “Tennessee Crossroads” on public TV. My father had a great time with them, as I recall.

Voecks is a classy guy and a great professional who deserves better.