On Thursdays, I stop by WHMP-AM in Northampton and spend a few minutes in the studio with morning show host Bob Flaherty.

Bob, who jumped ship at the U.S.S. Gazette a few weeks ago, has started a regular radio segment featuring recent letters to the editor of the Gazette. I describe a few recent ones and then we are joined, in the studio or by phone, by the author of a letter or guest column.

Here are recaps and links to the letters we discussed on Nov. 4, when Smith College political science professor Greg White came to speak about the prospect of casino gambling.
The segment will air at 1400 AM (and 96.9 FM) the week of Nov. 7.

-- Steve Funderburk of Pelham: Steve wrote in to join the ongoing debate about whether Amherst should continue to allow unleashed dogs at the Amethyst Brook Conservation Area. His point: Suggestions that people unhappy with the practice are exaggerating the dangers are unfair. He says he has a scar to prove that loose dogs can injure people. The town's Conservation Commission revisits this issue soon.

-- Malcolm Pradia of Sunderland:Malcolm, a social work intern in an area middle school, wrote in to suggest that far too many students go home to empty homes and apartments. He asks, where are the boys and girls clubs that can provide a sense of community outside of school?

-- Philippe Galaski of Amherst: Philippe praised work by the Northampton Rotary Club to combat polio worldwide, an effort described in an Oct. 24 guest column by Eric Lucentini. But in a letter, Philippe took issue with some of the terms, like "withered," that were used to describe the effects of this disease.

-- And Greg White: On air, Greg describes what he saw, as a resident of Philadelphia, play out in New Jersey, after casinos elsewhere began to draw customers away from the shore. His letter also challenges state political leaders on undue influence that the gambling industry may be bringing into the Legislature.

Keep those letters coming! Email to opinion@gazettenet.com or mail to PO 299, Northampton, MA 01061.