REGION - Today's teens are very busy. According to an American Library Association online survey, they would read more if they had the time.

To encourage teens to read for enjoyment, the libraries of the Ramapo Catskill Library System (RCLS) are promoting the third annual Teen Read Week, from October 15 to 21. Libraries in the RCLS service area of Orange, Ulster, Rockland and Sullivan counties will join hundreds of other libraries, the ALA and the Young Adult Services Association in the celebration.

This year's theme, "Take Time to Read... for the Fun of It!," is a direct response to the ALA survey results.

"With all the things they are doing-sports, clubs, music lessons and more-today's teens are strapped for time and find it hard to set aside the time to read," says Randall Enos, RCLS Children's Services Consultant. "We want to help change that."

During Teen Read Week, area libraries will be offering special programs and events just for teens.

Here are some tips for teens:

• Keep a book going all the time by carrying it in a backpack or read on the bus ride to school.
• Spend 30 minutes reading each night before going to bed.
• Turn off the TV and computer. Find a comfortable chair and curl up with your favorite book or magazine and some snacks.
• Join a book discussion group at your school or public library, or online. Teen Hoopla is a good place to start (www.ala.org/teenhoopla).
• Read on your lunch hour. Pick a table in the corner of the cafeteria or sit outside on a bench and pick up some non-required reading.
• Keep a record each week of how often you read on a daily basis (daily reading time or DRT). Look for ways to increase your reading on both a daily and weekly basis.
• Visit the local library and ask the librarian to recommend great books for teens.

Here are some tips for parents:

• Make reading a family activity. Turn off the TV one evening per week. Choose a time when the whole family can get together and share books.
• Make sure your teen has transportation to the library and bookstores.
• Reward reading. If a teen finishes a book, offer to buy another or talk about it over pizza.
• Read the same books your teenager is reading in school and talk about them.
• Be a role model. Let your teen see you reading for fun as well as work.

LOCH SHELDRAKE - Amy Donnelly, a fourth-semester student at Sullivan County Community College (SCCC), has been selected as a 2000-01 Gates Millennium Scholar. The 19-year-old Sullivan County native was one of 4,000 students selected from a pool of nearly 62,000 nominated for the honor.

Donnelly is currently a Liberal Arts/Elementary Education major who will be specializing in Special Education. Upon graduation from SCCC in December, she will pursue her bachelor's degree in Special Education through the Empire State College at New Paltz and will continue her studies at the Miami University School of Education.

The Gates Millennium Scholars initiative is funded by a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and administered by the United Negro College Fund in partnership with the Hispanic Scholarship Fund and the American Indian College Fund.

DAMASCUS - Parent-to-Parent is a video-based program that helps parents deal directly with their children on the critical issues facing adolescents today: drugs, violence, sex and character development. The program consists of eight lessons developed and taught by Bill Oliver, one of the country's foremost authorities on parenting and the Toxic Culture. Oliver knows the devastating effects drugs can have on a family. Having spent nearly five years of his life rescuing his oldest daughter from the horror of clinical dependency, he has dedicated the rest of his life to helping parents avoid the same ordeal.

The workshop will take place in the Damascus School faculty room on Tuesdays from 7:00 to 800 p.m., the first of which took place on October 17. The remaining sessions are October 24 and 31, November 7, 14, 21, 28 and December 5.

Call 570/224-4114 for more information or to sign up.

HONESDALE - An Ombudsman is a highly trained person who acts as an advocate and is well versed in listening to problems and complaints of people receiving long term services. The Ombudsman is a resource for information concerning consumers' rights and assists long term care consumers in pursuing remedies to their problems.

The Agency Ombudsmen has traditionally provided these services. Due to the pressing need and increased demand for services, the program includes the addition of Ombudsmen Volunteers.

Training is excellent and essential. Call Bonnie Robinson at 570/253-4262 for more information.

POTSDAM - Regan Del Priore of Narrowsburg is one of more than 60 freshmen who have joined the SUNY Potsdam Honors Program this fall.

The program strives to provide intellectual enrichment for the entire campus community through extra-curricular activities, community service and research.

Students who enter the Honors Program must have a minimum SAT score of 1150 and a minimum high school GPA of 90. Current SUNY Potsdam students and transfer students who enter the program must be enrolled for at least one semester at an accredited university and have a minimum GPA of 3.25. In order to remain in the program, students must maintain a 3.25 overall GPA, as well as obtain a 3.25 in all honors courses.

MONTICELLO - The Sullivan Reading Council's (SRC) next meeting will be held on Thursday, October 26 at the Blue Horizon Restaurant, Route 42, Monticello.

This dinner meeting will feature guest speakers Dorrie Lounsbury and Jennifer Unverzagt, teachers at the Emma Chase School in Wurtsboro, addressing how to connect English Language Arts to the Social Studies Standards.

Cost for SRC members is $15, non-members $19. Reservations required.

For more information contact Suzanne Cecil, 740 Sackett Lake Road, Monticello, NY 12701 or call 845/794-4580.