Freedom Boat Club Lake George has partnered with the Children’s Museum at Saratoga on a boating and fishing exhibit.

The “Saratoga Lake—Let’s Go Boating” exhibit is an interactive, kid-friendly, and colorfully immersive exhibit. The exhibit helps young children utilize play to enhance their social and emotional development, as well as learn how to communicate, observe and problem solve with one another as they navigate their way through it, museum officials said.

Freedom Boat Club owners Matt and Rebecca O’Hara have been members of the museum for several years and brought the idea to staff last year.

“We are frequent visitors of the museum with our 5- and 3 year-old daughters. We’ve seen the joy they get interacting with the steering wheels and controls on our club boats, we thought it would be great to enhance the interactivity of the boat exhibit at the museum,” said Rebecca. “We were thrilled when Sarah and her museum team were open to the idea of working with us to add not just the controls to the boat, but significantly upgrading the space with the fishing and knot tying panels.”

The exhibit space is on the first floor of the museum. It offers children an opportunity to take a boat ride fueled by their imagination as they discover different animals and plants in their natural habitat. To further enhance the exhibit’s educational value, there are additional interactives for visitors to engage with as they discover life on the lake.

Included is a revamped rowboat utilizing a reclaimed steering wheel and throttle control, an interactive knot-tying panel featuring four common boating knots, an interactive fishing game, and a life jacket station.

The O’Haras feel that the exhibit, and future programming designed around it, will allow visitors to have more hands-on experience with the joys of boating, the value of boat safety, and the importance of learning about and respecting the eco systems around the region’s lakes.

Stewart’s Shops, the locally based convenience store giant, is expanding again with the purchase of the of its Blueox Neighborhood Market convenience store chain.

Stewart’s will acquire seven stores and rebrand six of them to Stewart’s, under the deal.

The Blueox stores have gasoline pumps.

“We look forward to the opportunity to further serve the Blueox market that they have served so well for the past three plus decades and we look forward to welcoming Blueox employees to the Stewart’s family,” said Stewart’s Shops President Gary Dake.

Blueox Corp. President Jared Bartle said the decision to sell “did not come easily. Our stores, and especially the people in our stores, are deeply embedded into our corporate culture and it’s for that reason we sought a buyer whose priorities most closely aligned with ours.

“This was very important to Blueox. As we realign our long-term goals and continue to reinvest in the delivery and service divisions of our company, I’m excited at the opportunities to come.”

Blueox will continue under the name Blueox Energy Products & Services. At one time, it had 11 convenience stores known as Nice-n-Easy.

The company is based in Oxford in Chenango County.

Renamed in 1986, Blueox Corp. grew to 11 stores made up of both Nice N Easy franchise sites and Big Blue Convenience Stores, serving rural markets in upstate New York. Their residential and commercial delivery and service operations will continue to grow and operate under the name Blueox Energy Products & Services.

The Wesley Foundation, the philanthropic arm of The Wesley Community, raised $104,300 to support local seniors during its “Share A Step” virtual fundraiser,

Officials said approximately 100 community members, double the number from last year,  participated in the fundraiser which took place May 21-27 and invited community members to work toward a fitness-oriented goal while raising funds.

Participants this year logged more than 1,470 miles and helped bring the total amount raised for The Wesley Foundation via the annual fundraiser to more than $140,000 since it began in 2018, officials said.

“It has been tremendously rewarding to see how popular our ‘Share A Step’ fundraiser has become over the past several years,” said J. Brian Nealon, CEO of The Wesley Community. “The funds raised will go a long way in helping to support the many seniors on our campus. We are extremely grateful to all of the participants, sponsors and supporters of this event.”

Donations received via the virtual fundraiser will support the second phase of renovations at the Springs Building of Wesley Health Care Center.

The project will create a contemporary, efficient and home-like environment on the Springs Building’s second, third and fourth floors. Phase one of the project was completed in 2016.

The Wesley Community is a nonprofit senior living campus in Saratoga Springs with more than 700 residents.

Upstate Agency, a subsidiary of Arrow Family of Companies, is celebrating 40 years of service to residents and businesses in Schroon Lake.

Upstate Agency specializes in personal, commercial and group health benefits insurance with offices in Saratoga, Warren, Washington, Clinton and Essex counties.

The Schroon Lake agency, established in 1981, originally in the Freidman Real Estate office, moved to its present location at 1072 Route 9 in 1983. Upstate staff recently celebrated with a Coffee Takeover at Stewart’s that included free coffee and giveaways. Another Coffee Takeover will be scheduled for the fall, compamy oficials said.

“Our commitment to Schroon Lake and the surrounding area is strong, and we look forward to many more years helping friends, neighbors and business owners with insurance products and services that help them protect what matters the most to them,” said Kevin O’Brien, senior vice president.