For those who have not kept up with it, Mr. Baker, along with city and county council members have tried to frame this altercation as a few disgruntled people trying to stand in the way of progress, that the "probable" $14 million cost and the devaluation of close to 2,000 homes is all about attracting "potential" business to the area by extending the airport runway 1,000 feet to accommodate corporate jets.

Understand that these businessmen already can land their jets at the Rock Hill/ York County Airport (Bryant Field); that is not the problem. The addition is needed so that they can carry a few more passengers and take on more fuel in the summer months. We don't want to inconvenience these captains of industry; they might take their business to Lancaster or Concord, which have done a better job of planning for growth around their airports than Rock Hill.

Never mind that the Ballantine area of Charlotte, which is fast becoming a corporate headquarters Mecca, is approximately equidistant from the Charlotte Airport as the Rock Hill/Fort Mill area. This fact alone negates the need to grow our airport because we are fortunate to be in proximity to the 11th-largest airport in the country. I do suppose that a company that would want to relocate corporate headquarters to McConnells would save their executives a little time in the limo by flying into Rock Hill.

In all fairness, I should tell you that I live in Zone 3 and would have to disclose this to a potential buyer of my home even though we have not been bothered by airport noise and wouldn't expect be bothered if jet traffic increased. But our city planners have arbitrarily drawn some lines placing us in this heinous zone without doing any studies concerning the impact on our neighborhoods. I did notice that one of those upscale developments off Twin Lakes Road, which is the same distance from the center of the airport as our property, is not included in the AOD. Aren't they lucky?

'Management speak'

But back to Mr. Baker's use of "management speak." I reread his article in the April 13 Herald, so now I understand why he makes the big bucks; he is the master of obfuscation and that technique known as "baffle them with brilliance and blind them with bull." Having some knowledge of these methods, I will paraphrase some of his points and interpret them as best I can (in parentheses).

• Public input is wanted and needed (You can talk until you are blue in the face, but we are going to do what we want to do).

• We apologize for mistakes we've made in the past (Oops, but you poor suckers will have to absorb any losses from our screw-up).

• This isn't about the airport making money; in fact, it will help us to lose more money (That is what good government is all about, helping the elite few at the expense of the middle class).

• We don't understand why you're complaining now, we've been publicizing this for years (Don't you dummies read The Herald? And besides, we put up a few signs).

• Let me enlighten you with a lesson in Sociology of the Community, towns grow up around rivers, railroads and airports (If we decide to build a railroad through your house, we don't want to hear any complaints). Most of the people in Saint Louis living near the airport hardly knew it was there. (Only a few crybabies complained).

• Security in the aftermath of 9-11 has influenced this (If I mention 9-11, they will be viewed as unpatriotic if they object).

A huge imposition

I can understand what is in it for Mr. Baker to push for big changes at the airport even if it is a huge imposition on thousands of county and city residents and wastes millions of tax dollars at a time when so many other projects are underfunded. He gets to embellish his resume before moving on to a better government management job. It is harder to fathom why elected council members would support it. Maybe it is just a case of "Charlotte envy" that Rock Hill seems to be stricken with or maybe it gives the longest-serving members an opportunity to cover up past mistakes concerning zoning around the airport. They would do well to remember the fate of a councilman who lost his seat in the last election because he supported moneyed interest over his constituents.

One last thing: That old saying that you can't fight city hall is not true. Years ago (dejá vu), the city planned to run a sewer line from the airport industrial park down Little Dutchman Creek in our neighborhood, which would have destroyed a pristine body of water where kids played and wildlife flourished. City planners told us that they had eminent domain, that there was nothing we could do about it. We met with councilmen, the E.P.A., and wrote numerous letters, all to no avail. But after a few calls to Strom Thurmond's office, ol' Strom helped us to change the course of the effluent and save the creek. I urge everyone to call U.S. Rep. Spratt and Senators Graham and DeMint and ask them to use their influence with the F.A.A. to stop the Rock Hill/York County Airport expansion a the Airport Overlay District.