DAD SAYS HE'S AN OUTCAST FOR FIGHTING DRUG-TEST POLICY

Many in small Texas town unhappy with lawsuit filed against school
district.

LOCKNEY, Texas - Larry Tannahill says he has lost his job and has been
made an outcast in his own hometown since he sued his son's school
over a mandatory drug testing policy.

Mr. Tannahill's former employer at the Floyd County Farm and Ranch
Supply said the job loss is not related to the controversy. But many
in this Floyd County community of 2,300 admit they're unhappy with Mr.
Tannahill and the public spotlight his actions have attracted.

"He has a right to have his own opinion, but we have a right to ours,
too," said Warren Mathis, 64, a Lockney resident since 1942. "The
people don't think very good of Larry right now. We've got 400 kids
we're trying to help, and one person [is] trying to spoil
everything."

Mr. Tannahill and his wife, Traci, are the only parents in the Lockney
school district who have refused to sign a waiver giving school
officials permission to test their son Brady for drug, alcohol and
tobacco use. Under the policy, any student who tests positive or
declines to be tested is subject to punishment, including in-school
suspension and suspension from extracurricular activities.

This month, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit on the
Tannahills' behalf challenging the mandatory testing policy's
constitutionality.

That action has not been well received in the farming community, which
now must defend itself in a court case that attorneys have estimated
will cost thousands of dollars.

Policy proponent Debbie Montandon of Lockney said a majority of
residents want drug testing. She said that if she agreed with Mr.
Tannahill, she would home-school her children rather than take court
action.

"As adults, we have options everywhere we turn," she said. "I'm
opposed to people outside making decisions for what we want right here
in town."

Bobby Hall, a parent of two Lockney students, said many in the
community have been surprised at the media attention, most of which it
has considered biased and favoring Mr. Tannahill's viewpoint.

"I think what people in Lockney most want people to realize is this:
Number 1, there is a drug problem in our community; Number 2, it took
a decade to arrive at this policy; Number 3, this is what an
overwhelming majority of those in Lockney wanted; Number 4, it is
doing exactly what we wanted done," Mr. Hall said.

Despite the unwelcome attention, Mr. Hall said he's not seen any
public displays of anger or frustration aimed at Mr. Tannahill.

Face-to-face confrontations are rare, Mr. Tannahill said, but he feels
like an outcast in the community where he was born and graduated from
high school in 1982. Friends tell him that they have been criticized
even for sitting with him at public gatherings, he said.

"We've been invited to leave and stuff like that," Mr. Tannahill
said.

He has received some private support for his stance from within the
community, he said, but public support has been lacking.

Never was that more evident than last Thursday night, when Tannahill
family members and their attorney went before the school board to try
to overturn the policy passed late last year.

An estimated 700 people, many dressed in red-and-white T-shirts
expressing support for the policy, turned out for the meeting. A
public comment session produced repeated ovations for about a
half-dozen adults and students who spoke in favor of drug testing. No
applause followed comments by Mr. Tannahill and his attorney, who were
the only speakers opposed.

The board took no action, leaving the policy in place.

The next morning, Mr. Tannahill said, he was dismissed from his job as
a farmhand.

"I knew this was coming," Mr. Tannahill said. "I understand he [the
employer] is under a lot of pressure. He has a family to support also."

Lindan Morris, his former employer, said Mr. Tannahill was dismissed
because of excessive absences - parts of five days in a span of 15
days - and not because of the community controversy.

Mr. Tannahill does not dispute that he missed some work. But he said
Mr. Morris has told him that the farm and ranch supply store has
suffered since the drug-testing became an issue.

Mr. Morris told the Plainview Daily Herald that some customers have
not come to the store because of Mr. Tannahill.

"Instead of being confrontational, people just avoid each other," he
told the newspaper.

Mr. Tannahill has no plans to take court action in an effort to get
his job back.

"I'm not trying to be vindictive toward anybody," he
said.

Mr. Tannahill also said that several weeks ago someone shot his dog
with a paint gun and left a note that read "Next time it won't be your
dog." The dog was not injured.

Mr. Tannahill has no plans to leave Lockney or change schools.
Officials have done a good job of keeping the issue out of the
classroom, he said. Brady, who is 12, has not been ostracized or
experienced any negative incidents related to the controversy, Mr.
Tannahill said.

"It's kind of amazing to me that the kids in school are acting more
adult than the adults are," he said.

What's amazing to some Lockney residents is that Mr. Tannahill is
going against what they see as the community's decision.

"What they're unhappy with Larry about is he's the only one against
this and he has no good reason," Mr. Mathis said. "If he doesn't want
to do drug testing, all he has to do is pull him [son Brady] out and
send him to Plainview [a nearby public school]. We're not forcing him
to do this . . . he's just so bullheaded he doesn't want to do
anything else."

His wife, Barbara Mathis, added: "There are a lot of good things in
this community. As far as I'm concerned, that drug-testing policy is
one of them. It says we care about our children."