SNOQUALMIE VALLEY – There has been a lot of talk about heroes following the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, D.C. Their stories are told each day in newspapers an on television.

But some in the Valley may be surprised to know that a few local residents have been singled out for their own valor and courage. Then again, maybe they won’t be surprised. Those recognized have been staples of the community for years.

Dr. Richard McCullough and Rudy Edwards are two locals featured in the book “Striving: Barnstorming America for Role Models in the Shadow of Lindbergh.” The book’s author, Washington native Sandy Sinclair, said he set out to find down-to-earth role models in an age filled with bad news and bad examples.

“There is some negative press that is making young people think that things are hopeless,” Sinclair said.

Sinclair got the idea for the book after meeting with the Snoqualmie Valley Rotary Club three years ago to talk about his travels as a bush pilot and teacher in Alaska. He documented the experience in his 1960 book, “The Flying Schoolmaster of Alaska.” Sinclair talked to then-president of the Rotary Club Bruce Jackson about the need for positive role models, and Jackson suggested some people in the Valley that he should look up.

“I didn’t get to put all of them in the book, but there are some great people in the Valley,” Sinclair said.

Sinclair traveled to the four corners of the nation looking for role models. He flew a route taken by Charles Lindbergh and ended up getting the best of North Bend, Westford, Mass., Bluff, Utah, St. Marys, Ga., and many people in between.

“I agree with him that we need to have active role models,” said McCullough, superintendent of the Snoqualmie Valley School District. “Every generation looks for heroes.”

Sinclair explained in his book that McCullough is a role model because he does not practice “situational ethics,” a phrase coined by McCullough that means he sets a different standard for each person he meets based on class or status.

“It’s an issue that comes up in student discipline all the time,” McCullough said. “It’s about not treating the mayor’s kids differently than the unemployed truck driver’s.”

Another important part of McCullough’s ethics is his belief in practical methods of taking responsibility. When a mistake is made, McCullough said honesty in always the best policy.

“I can say it is always better to admit to a mistake up front and suffer the consequences then,” he said. “Taking your medicine, eating crow, whatever you want to call it. That is a critical moral standard.”

Sinclair explained that he looked for heroes among common people because he believes that is where the true heroes are found. From his experiences as a high-school counselor, he said many young people have a vision of heroes limited to sports figures and those in the entertainment industry.

Edwards, who is a park ranger for the U.S. Forest Service in North Bend and a member of the Snoqualmie Valley School District board of directors, said he understood Sinclair’s quest because he himself found inspiration in the common people in his life.

“My heroes came from people out of my community,” Edwards said. “Heroes are the little people that do everyday jobs in your community.”

Edwards added it was common people who inspired him to become the person he is today, like the teachers who encouraged him to get a job in science, volunteer for the Peace Corps and have a positive outlook on life.

“I think a lot of people have looked at sports figures for heroes, but they are a special breed of people. They are part of a whole special group of people that do things apart from society,” Edwards said. “But everyone else down here is going to work and getting paid for it. Those are real heroes.”

Sinclair agreed that the idea of a role model can become skewed in a society that cherishes material wealth. Since a lot of today’s role models come from entertainment, sports and other high-paying professions, he counter that trend in his book.

“Materialism is not the key thing in character,” Sinclair said. “If I used money and fame as way of judging character, part of my concept goes down the tubes.”

Despite national headlines, Sinclair wants people to know that “all is OK in America.” He has heard that his book has been used as a kind of “chicken soup for a bad day,” and he was pleased to hear it has been used to help cheer up those with terminal illness.

“I think it’s important as a reference book for optimism among us,” Sinclair said.

To honor the heroes borne out of the Sept. 11 attacks, Sinclair hopes to write a small, four-page sequel to “Striving” that commemorates those volunteers.