Category: CNN Regional

By Paul Burton

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    MILFORD, Massachusetts (WBZ) — If there was ever a lesson that small, kind gestures can go a long way, this group of teens from Milford, Massachusetts, certainly is a wonderful example.

Earlier this week, 7-year-old Tristan Caron, who has autism, was at Urban Air Adventure Park in Bellingham with his mother, Christina, when a group of teenagers invited him to play with them. The interaction left a lasting impression on Christina, who took to social media to thank the teens for including her son.

Livy Molinari, one of the teenagers, told WBZ-TV that the interaction happened when she decided to ask Tristan one question after noticing he was sitting by himself.

“I said ‘that’s a really nice ball you have,’ because he had just won a ball,” she said. “I was like, ‘can I hold it for a second?’ And he was like, ‘yeah sure.'”

A simple game of toss with Tristan turned into a 40-minute jamboree of hide-and-seek, catch and fun on the slide.

“He was really excited and happy when we asked his mom if he could play with us too,” said Kelsey Zozzaro, one of the teens.

It was more than just laughter. Tristan’s mom said it was life-changing for her son who usually gets left out. She was able to identify the teenagers through Facebook.

The teens told WBZ-TV that they had no idea Tristan had autism but saw him sitting alone and wanted to include him.

“We just wanted to include him and have a fun time playing around at Urban Air. And I feel really happy he felt included and as joyful as he did,” said Anna Held, another one of the teens.

Word of the teens’ actions spread quickly around the community, something the group said they did not anticipate but are embracing.

“It’s nice we included him and other people get to know about this, so maybe they can think about it when other people aren’t included,” said Kenny Leite, a teen from the group.

Urban Air Adventure Park has been in contact with everyone involved and said they plan to invite everyone back to the park for a day of celebrating the teens’ act of kindness.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Craig Nigrelli

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    OMAHA, Nebraska (KETV) — Relatives of 94-year-old Celianne La Rosa, lovingly known as Aunt Cici, are trying to save the home that the elderly woman has lived in for nearly 50 years.

Flash flooding from the late September storm in Omaha sent water from Little Papio Creek gushing into the Elmwood Gardens neighborhood near Elmwood Park.

The floodwaters washed out the foundation of Cici’s home, leaving a gaping hole where the basement sits.

A blue tarp now covers part of it as family members have spent dozens of hours over the past two weeks digging mud and debris out of the lower portion of the house.

A massive mound of mud now sits in the backyard. There are piles of splintered wood strewn about.

“It’s heartbreaking,” said Cici’s nephew Mike Zabawa.

He says the plumbing, electrical and mechanical systems all need replacing.

The house is Cici’s primary asset or source of equity.

Mike and his wife Paula (Cici’s niece) were preparing to sell the house and use the money from the sale to move Cici to an assisted living facility.

The flood waters washed away those hopes for the time being.

Cici has been staying at a rehab facility while dealing with health issues.

Repairing her home, in order to eventually sell it, will take tens of thousands of dollars in costs.

“By selling the house, we would have been able to fund her assisted living for many years, “noted Mike Zabawa.

He says a lot of family members and friends are chipping in to try to help, including contractors and other service providers.

The Zabawas have started a GoFundMe page, with a goal of $50,000.

They say they are thankful that Aunt Cici was not home at the time of the tremendous flooding on the final night of September and are hoping she eventually can be moved to an assisted living facility as originally planned.

In the meantime, the repairs to her badly damaged house in Elmwood Gardens continue.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Madison Zaleski

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    BABCOCK RANCH, Florida (WBBH) — “I heard the helicopter loud and clear,” said Babcock Ranch resident Kelly Vokaty.

Vokaty watched from her lanai in Babcock Ranch Friday morning as a Black Hawk helicopter hovered over the water. However, what she didn’t realize was that it was carrying a school bus!

“Oh, I did see a shadow or something long. It looked like something was being carried, but I couldn’t differentiate what it was,” said Vokaty.

Residents in the area couldn’t help but do a double take.

“Had I seen that live, I would have just, like, totally been freaking out. Did they take it out of the water or, you know, what happened?” said Babcock Ranch resident Richard Berlin-Velez.

Only Gulf Coast News caught this footage on our live weather cameras Friday morning. Our team reached out to the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office for answers.

The sheriff’s office says its dive team is practicing how to save people in the water.

“It’s something that you don’t see every day. But when you learn what’s happening, you’re amazed,” said Berlin-Velez.

CCSO says its dive team visits Babcock Ranch multiple times a year to practice underwater extractions, using setups like a submerged bus and dummies to prepare for real-world emergencies.

“We’re just lucky to live in a community where we have the backdrop for them to learn what they need to do to save lives,” said Vokaty.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Alan Shope

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    OVERLAND PARK, Kansas (KMBC) — An Overland Park man has turned his love of Halloween into a neighborhood tradition, carving nearly 400 foam pumpkins to create a festive display that also raises money for charity.

Daniel Taber started carving pumpkins 16 years ago with just two.

Since then, his collection has grown to 392, including 17 new additions this year.

The display, located near 124th Terrace and Nieman Road, draws visitors every October.

Taber carves nearly all the pumpkins himself, with the exception of a few his son has made over the years.

Some of the more detailed carvings take 10 to 12 hours to complete.

Visitors can also leave feedback in a suggestion box.

“A lot of the suggestions are compliments about how much they love the display,” Taber said.

Taber has also turned his Halloween hobby into a fundraiser for Harvesters, collecting donations through Venmo.

So far this year, he’s raised $2,200, already surpassing last year’s total.

After Halloween, Taber carefully packs away the pumpkins in his garage until the following year.

He hopes to keep the tradition going and “spread some of that Halloween spirit.”

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Ryan Dickstein

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    UTAH COUNTY, Utah (KSTU) — A Salt Lake City man was arrested over the weekend for allegedly throwing boulders at passing cars along Route 6 in Utah County.

At least four people called 911 reporting the man jumped out in front of them tossing rocks, and damaging their vehicles, including windshields.

It happened Saturday around 7:38 p.m. between mile markers 208 and 209, towards Price.

Police initially couldn’t find the suspect, and even deployed drones to locate him.

But as officers were driving down the highway, they noticed a person walking on the shoulder matching the suspect’s description.

According to a police report, the man shouted at officers claiming “something about someone being after him.”

The man was ordered to surrender at gunpoint at which time he was taken into custody.

Police identified him as 37-year-old Nicholas Sean-Leo Proulx.

jumping out in front of cars on the highway. Dispatch also advised that the callers were reporting that the male was throwing rocks at vehicles

up the canyon towards Price, a male in dark clothing threw a boulder at their vehicle.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Brady Caskey

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    MELBA, Idaho (KIVI) — A small herd of Kuna camels is taking on an unusual job in Canyon County — helping clear weeds, brush and other vegetation as part of an experiment to see whether the animals can be used for weed abatement and wildfire mitigation.

The five camels from Thunderstorm Ranch in Kuna sure do love a prickly snack.

“They love to eat anything you don’t wanna step on they eat thistle they eat kochia they eat goat heads,” said Lisa Berry. She and her husband, Darin Bell, own Thunderstorm Ranch and about half of the camels in the state.

“We happen to be the largest camel farm in Idaho,” said Berry.

That comes out to a whopping seven camels total.

They usually spend their time meeting folks in Kuna or at events around the Treasure Valley, but now they’re trying out a new job.

“This is our experiment with bringing them to other properties to graze and see how they do,” said Berry.

The goal is for them to get rid of weeds, brush and other foliage from the field, something many people are more accustomed to seeing goats do.

“Well, I’m hoping that they will prove their value as a weed abatement animal,” Berry added.

Their first assignment is at Robin Hernandez’s property in Melba.

“It’s rehabbing the field, but it’s also seeing the camels every day, they bring a lot of joy and happiness,” said Hernandez.

Hernandez first met Berry and her camels at the ranch in Kuna and thought they could help rehabilitate her field while also cutting down on potential wildfire fuels.

“If the camels can be helpful to people with their pastures and their weed abatement and taking care of the possibility of fire spreading, I think this is a great way to do it,” Hernandez added.

It should only take the herd a few days to get through all the grass, weeds and trees on the property before heading back home to Kuna.

You can learn more about the Thunderstorm Ranch and their camels here.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Adam Bartow

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    SABATTUS, Maine (WMTW) — Police say a vehicle that crashed into Sabattus Pond in Sabattus early on Sunday morning had been stolen from Auburn and was filled with teenagers.

The Sabattus Police Department says several people called to report a vehicle driving recklessly and without lights on early Sunday morning. Officers say they saw the car go through a red light at the intersection of Pleasant Hill Road and Route 126.

A short time later, police say the driver lost control and crashed into the edge of the pond.

Police say there were seven teenagers as young as 13 inside the vehicle at the time. When officers arrived, they say two of the teens had run into the woods. They were found a short time later, with help from a police K9.

Police said no one was hurt but charges were pending in the case.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.