I would like to congratulate Randy Whitehouse on an outstanding article about Jared Turcotte (Sept. 15). Whitehouse did a great job capturing Turcotte’s story.

The primary reason I am writing, however, is to congratulate Turcotte. I don’t know him personally, only of his exploits on the football field, but his story is a great one. It is filled with triumphs, disappointments and difficult decisions. Most impressive, however, is the decision that Turcotte made to put his family before himself. I see him as a role model.

In today’s society, we constantly hear about abusive parents, drug addict parents, neglect, kids going to school hungry, etc. As an educator for the past 18 years, I witness the fallout from these unfortunate negative parental behaviors.

How is the cycle of negative parental behavior broken? The public provides children with examples of what good parenting looks like. People have to show them because many parents are not. It is a vicious cycle.

Turcotte’s story should be shared with every student in the state of Maine. The “sports” part of his story is not the main story. The main story is his commitment to his wife and children. This commitment is exactly what is needed in more of society. Too many people quit a relationship when the going gets tough, or they put their own desires in front of the people they are supposed to be taking care of. Turcotte did not do that, and he has earned my respect.

Rob Schmidt, Readfield