HAWLEY DRUG TESTING INVASION OF PRIVACY

I have just finished reading the Jan. 20 story about Hawley schools' drug
testing plans. There is basically one sentence in the article that really
alarms me: "Parents at the meeting expressed concern regarding how to
monitor students not participating in extracurricular activities."

Has it ever occurred to these people it is not their right or business to
monitor other people's children? Invasion of people's privacy (including a
parent's) is a very serious issue. Some folks need to learn when to butt
out.

At a time when our freedoms are being eroded for the good of the "many," we
need to stop and realize that we have personal responsibilities as citizens
and as parents. These include letting our children grow up in a free
society, warts and all. They also include guarding our freedoms zealously,
which some seem to have forgotten.

By the way, I am a conservative Republican and work in the transportation
industry, which has government-regulated mandatory drug testing. I have been
in this industry for 20 years and have never failed a drug test.

Jim Parker

Abilene