SULLIVAN WEST - Once again, the students of Sullivan West Central School are participating in the "Box Tops for Education" program, a fund raiser for the entire community.

The program, sponsored by General Mills and Campbell's Soups, help the school raise money to purchase items not covered by shrinking school budgets.

Organizers are asking parents, relatives and friends to save Box Tops for Education logos from participating General Mills products such as cereals and snacks. The school will receive $0.10 for every box top and Campbell's soup label collected, which in return can be used to obtain items in a catalog.

Box tops and soup labels amy be turned in to the main offices of any one of the three campuses. For more information call Marlene Kinch at 845/252-3100.

MONTICELLO - The Monticello High School speech and debate team has been awarded the Leading Chapter Award in the New York State District of the National Forensic League (NFL).

An award based upon student participation, the Leading Chapter Award is the highest honor a chapter can receive from the NFL. The annual award is given to one school in each district. Schools must wait at least five years before being eligible for the award again.

Monticello High School is one of only 103 schools to receive the Leading Chapter Award this year. There are 2,600 NFL member schools nationwide.

HURLEYVILLE - TRR staff reporter Tom Kane will present a workshop on writing as an organic, developmental process that uncovers ideas in your mind, gut and spirit.

In three two-hour sessions participants will explore their hidden inspirations through free-writing, separate the creative writer from the censor, trust their own voice, see the value of re-writing, show not tell, keep a journal, see the value of details and write clearly and precisely.

The workshop will take place on three Tuesdays, October 3, 10 and 17, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Sullivan County Museum in Hurleyville.

Kane is a writer and journalist. He has written several published short stories and has been a correspondent for the Times Herald Record. He has a program on WJFF called "Life in These Parts." Currently, he is publishing a novel on the Internet.

To register call The Catskill Art Society at 845/436-4227. There is a $45 fee for non-members, members $40.

LIBERTY - Spend a morning at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Sullivan County learning from professionals how they "preserve history." The program will be held on Saturday, October 14 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon. The cost is $15; $12 for members of the Agricultural or Human Ecology Program.

Nancy Barkley will teach attendees how to safely preserve and display family memories (photographs and other memorabilia) in an acid-free and lignin-free environment. She is a consultant for Creative Memories, who holds numerous hands-on workshops.

Rita Rasmussen, a genealogist, will talk about how and where to do research and will then answer individual questions.

Dorothy Shapiro, the co-producer and co-director of Video Reflections, willshow how to tape and interview your relatives.

Pre-registration is required. For more information call 845/292-5250.

ELDRED - The September monthly meeting of the Friends of Sunshine Hall Free Library was held on Tuesday, September 26 at the Eldred Town Hall.

Library Director, Anna Nguyen, thanked the group for their tremendous help in making the children's summer reading program a resounding success. The program included 12 Friday morning activities where Friends provided volunteer support. The Discover 2000 Space program had 54 children enrolled with a total attendance of 217. The children read a total of 935 books resulting in 82 treat certificates. A child earned a certificate for each 10 books read. The Friends organization funded the certificates for a treat at Helen's Country Deli or the G-Mart in Eldred.

A report was given on the status of the literacy effort. Training for tutors will be held during October in Monticello; student services will be held locally. Persons interested in either training, learning to read or improving reading skills should contact the Literacy Volunteers of America Sullivan County at 845/794-0017 or Linda Lee at 845/557-8086.

The next meeting of the Friends will be at the Lumberland Town Hall in Glen Spey on October 24 at 7:00 p.m.

TAFTON - The Wayne-Pike Adult Literacy Program (WPALP) named Dorothy Peat Brautigam of Newfoundland as Tutor of the Year. She will be recognized on Thursday, October 5 at WPALP's Awards Dinner at The Waterfront at Ehrhardt's on Route 507 in Tafton.

Brautigam completed WPALP's tutor training workshop in March 1996 and since then has worked with numerous inmates in the Pike County Jail, where she has accumulated over 550 hours of tutoring time.

In addition, she volunteers as a pastoral aide at St. Mary's Villa in Elmhurst and assists with events at the churches of St. Rita and St. Anthony. She is also a member of the Community Women's Club.

Reservations to the Awards Dinner are $20 and can be made by calling WPALP at 570/253-3221.