12-YEAR-OLD FOCAL POINT IN LOCKNEY CASE WILL SPEND MEANTIME GROWING UP

LOCKNEY - Brady Tannahill likes to shoot cans with his BB gun, ride bikes
with his mom and fly around in his grandpa's airplane.

He can fly the plane, you know.

"I let my grandpa do the landing and the taking off . . . but I get to fly
it," he said. "It's got a steering wheel. You push it in and out. When you
push it in, you go down. When you pull it out, the plane goes up. And you
turn it like you would a car. I don't do the pedals. They make the back
side move. I leave that for my grandpa."

Like many other 12-year-old boys, he participates in Cub Scouts, plays a
little baseball and sometimes is faced with tough questions.

"What do you think about illegal drugs," a reporter asked him Monday night.

"I don't think they are good for your health," said.

"Have you ever seen any drugs?" the reporter continued.

"I've seen cigarettes. One time, this kid asked me to smoke one when we
went to the fair. I told him no," he said.

"What do you think about your dad not letting you be tested for drugs?" the
reporter asked.

"I'm proud he did it. They're taking away our rights," Brady said. "There's
one kid that says, 'Your dad's using the First Amendment.' I said, 'They're
using the Fourth Amendment.' "

Brady said the First Amendment has something to do with free speech. He
said he doesn't know exactly what the Fourth Amendment is all about, but
he's pretty sure it has something to do with his "personal rights."

"I don't really like to talk about it," he concluded.

At 12, he shouldn't have to talk about such things. But in these troubled
times, the whole world is talking about drugs and kids and what's the best
way to keep the two apart.

The people in Lockney have gone beyond the talk-about-it stage. Late last
year, school trustees approved a new policy that requires all school
officials and non-elementary students submit to a drug, alcohol and tobacco
screening. The testing is a deterrent, giving kids a weapon with which to
battle peer pressure, school officials said.

Most of the community agrees.

But Brady Tannahill's parents do not agree. Larry and Traci Tannahill filed
a lawsuit against the school district. They contend the policy is akin to
police searching a house without any indication the resident has done
anything wrong, which is a violation of their Fourth Amendment rights.

The courts will try to work it out, likely over several years' time.

In the meantime, the newspapers will offer widespread and passionate
opinions on the subject, some more school boards will agonize over whether
the pros of mandatory drug testing outweigh the cons, and Brady Tannahill -
let us pray we never forget the focal point in all of this - will be
growing up.

He likes Jeeps, you know, and hopes to own one some day.

"My dad has one," he said. "I haven't driven it. . . . It has a stick
shift. I'm not too good with a stick shift yet."

David Steven is a freelance writer. He can be contacted at (806)
467-1312. His e-mail address is: swnews@tcac.net.