The Canoe Island Lodge is a 30-acre resort in Diamond Point, Lake George. One of the many spectacular aspects of this property is that it includes a 2.7-acre island on Lake George – CIL, as it is fondly known, is located only five miles north of Lake George Village. Carla and Tom Burhoe were second-generation operators of the propety, and they recently sold it for 10.7-million dollars cash… But the buyer currently remains anonymous.

This resort has 472 feet of lakefront access, and 25,000 square feet of guest accommodations. The new owner of the property did not want to be publicly identified; the transactions were conducted through two LLCs.  The 30-acre lodge – which has six bedrooms, four full baths, four half-baths, a dance floor, and a great room with a stone fireplace – was purchased for $8-million by CIL Lakeshore Mainland Properties QI LLC. The island was purchased for $2.7-million by NY Big Canoe Island QI LLC.

This Lake George resort includes more than a dozen buildings, with staff housing, tennis and pickleball courts, shuffleboard, docks, and a swimming area. The new owners are expected to continue many of the traditions of the Burhoe family and their predecessors – including Carla’s parents, Bill & Jane Busch, they had collectively operated the seasonal business for 77 years. 

The post had 114 comments of welliwishes and gratitude, dappled with photos from guests’ personal experiences throughout the years.

Restaurants use gallons of cooking oil a week, and that oil can be used as fuel… The used oil that had previously been a waste for a restaurant has been turned into a revenue stream; Biofuel production has evolved into a multi million dollar industry.  Biodiesel – a form of diesel fuel that is derived from vegetable oil, animal fat or organic waste – can run diesel engines and blend with other alternative fuels. As this market emerged, the original waste-haulers shifted from providing the service of picking up the oil to paying customers for the waste oil. The hauler provides covered containers to store the oil until it is picked up… However, there has been an increase in thefts of this oil. 

Two companies that recycle used cooking oil are Western Mass Rendering Company and Buffalo Biodiesel. These companies supply restaurants with vats to hold used oil – these vats are kept locked outside in the back of the restaurants, and then picked up by drivers on a planned route. Western Mass Rendering Company has over 10,000 customers in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Eastern New York , Southern New Hampshire, and Vermont.

According to Buffalo Biodiesel, a whopping 96% of cooking oil thefts reported to the company are in the Capital Region. The Albany area is the most significantly hit area; from January to early November of this year, Buffalo Biodiesel had 440 reported cooking oil thefts. Break-ins are up 30%, and expected to increase to 50% in the coming year. The thieves are making more than $1,000 a night stealing the cooking oil and selling it on the black market.

Western Mass pays customers $100 for a 300 gallon tank, and a man who was accused of stealing cooking oil admitted to being paid $3 a gallon for the oil. Thieves typically drive box trucks or work vans with pumps or hoses that are used to transfer the oil to an onboard holding tank. If they are caught, they are charged with petit larceny or possession of stolen property, which are both misdemeanors; they are then issued an appearance ticket.

Restaurant owners have had success catching people who are stealing the oil by installing cameras, and Buffalo Biodiesel posts the thefts on their Facebook page. They recently posted that China Wang reported an oil theft: “ Our supplier at China Wang reported an oil theft from the vat where they recycle their used cooking oil. Theft hurts the community and your local restaurants, as we pay for their oil.”  

Due to limited legal ramification to the thieves and the large markup for the oil on the black market, this problem is expected to increase in the coming year. This hurts restaurant owners who are paid for the oil, and there is also a concern that someone will get hurt during the commission of these crimes.