You don’t need me to tell you, the news is pretty heavy these days. In this job, I try to stay abreast of what is going on, at a state level, and nationally, as best as I can. But I’ve got to say, listening to the news these days is a bit of a downer.

I’ve even taken to switching off N.P.R. on the drive to work in the morning — a bit of silence is a better soundtrack to the passing Lake Sammamish and the rising Cascades than news of yet another round of layoffs and billions of dollars being forked out to pay for the sins of greedy and irresponsible financiers.

But the great thing about my job is that often what makes news in communities like ours is more uplifting, and the past couple of weeks have been a good example.

I’ve been writing about some of the nominees for the SAMMI Awards. For those of you who haven’t heard of the SAMMIs, they were instituted in 2001 to recognize those often unheralded local residents who contribute to their community.

I’ve got to talk with some very cool and dedicated people like Kelly Munn and Kristin Pitt (whose deeds, I must say, made me feel very ashamed about being proud of myself for donating to KEXP this week).

For whatever reason, community newspapers stay close to the work of volunteers, I think as part of their M.O. to tell people about what their neighbors are doing, and inform residents of how they can contribute to community projects.

At Sammamish Council on Tuesday night I was introduced to the work of another remarkable local volunteer, Duane Koberg, who through Faith in Action provides support to seniors, doing home repairs, buying groceries, or helping with travel so older people can maintain their independence.

These amazing people are everywhere.

I have lived and worked in communities where it seemed volunteers were the only thing holding the place together — from school crosswalk guards and sports coaches to information center staff, library assistants, care-givers and even fire-fighters.

A lot of these positions aren’t just serving small, special interest groups, but are responsible for a role of great public importance, like the legislative representatives in PTAs, or the personnel of state emergency services.

Which makes me wonder, is it right of government to just assume that community volunteers will fill these roles?

Are community members happy to take on the responsibility of these things, as a way of claiming greater ownership of the environments of their everyday lives?

It might seem strange to some that we can find a salary for someone to, say, trim the grass of the sporting fields, but often rely on volunteers to look after our senior citizens or to fight forest fires.

The fiscal worth of the services provided by volunteers across America must be in the many billions of dollars, and it is great to see governments at whatever level, as Sammamish City Manager Ben Yacizi did at the council meeting, recognize this value and just how hard it would be for life to continue otherwise.

The SAMMI awards too, are an important function in continuing the great volunteer tradition of small cities like Issaquah and Sammamish, for congratulation and appreciation is often the only currency with which to pay for services rendered.

We need to ensure that these awards, and this applause, is not a token gesture. It really must represent a true and deep understanding that without those who put up their hand to do the hard work for no pay, life, for many, cannot go on.