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Rhode Island
Firefighters in R.I. called to help camel stand up
Local News
The camel weighs about 2,000 pounds, according to its owner.
Rhode Island firefighters responded to quite an unusual call on Sunday.
Henry Cabrera, owner of Lavender Waves Farm, called to report that his Arabian camel, Harley, was having trouble standing up.
Cabrera said he noticed that Harley, who was lying on an incline, looked unwell, so he tried to help him stand up, but to no avail. Harley weighs about 2,000 pounds.
“I think it was pure mechanics and physics because his hump was on the downward side of the hill, so his legs were kind of facing up the hill,” Cabrera, who owns five of the six privately held camels in all of Rhode Island, told Boston.com. “It was just mechanically impossible for him to get his 2,000 pound body up.”
It quickly became apparent to Cabrera that he was going to need to call for help. He tried calling some of his crafty friends for ideas, but none of them seemed to know what to do.
That’s when he called the fire department.
“He made me repeat myself several times,” Cabrera said of his phone call with the Union Fire District of South Kingston. “It took him a couple minutes to sort of believe me, but ultimately they did.”
Soon after, Cabrera said several firefighters arrived with four different vehicles.
“Lo and behold. Now they believed me,” he said. “The camel was down.”
Cabrera said it took over an hour for him and the firefighters to figure out how to lift Harley. Finally, the group put a strap around the camel’s hump to sit him up.
“He was kind of wobbly at first,” Cabrera said. “He got up and he was fine after that.”
After Harvey was back on his feet, Cabrera gave the firefighters a tour of his farm. Lavender Waves Farm has over 4,000 lavender plants and a luxury Airbnb farm suite, according to its website. In addition to camels, Cabrera’s farm has alpacas, llamas, chickens, ducks, guinea hens, geese, and white peacocks.
For the fire department, the incident was “one of their top five calls,” but for Cabrera, not so much.
“It was clearly a call that they enjoyed,” Cabrera said. “I wasn’t too happy about the whole thing. I was a little bit embarrassed, but I didn’t know who else to call.”
CUMBERLAND, R.I. (WPRI) — Rhode Island State Police are investigating a crash that happened on I-295 North in Cumberland Tuesday night.
The crash happened in the right lane near Exit 22 just before 9 p.m.
It’s unclear exactly what caused the crash or if anyone was injured.
12 News has reached out to Rhode Island State Police for more information but has not heard back.
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Scandals shake up Capitol Hill ahead of midterm elections
Congressional reporter Zachary Schermele dives into the latest scandals on Capitol Hill and how they’re shaking up politics ahead of midterms.
Rhode Island’s Democrat and Republican primary elections will officially be held on Wednesday, Sept. 9 this year, instead of the usual Tuesday election day.
Lawmakers passed the bill at the urging of state and local officials, who were concerned that an election day falling the day after Labor Day would not give them enough time to set up polls for the arrival of voters.
Gov. Dan McKee signed the bill on April 20, officially moving the primary day for 2026.
Which races will be on the ballot? The Republican and Democrat nominees for a swath of local offices – most notably governor but also lieutenant governor and attorney general.
Why was RI’s primary day moved?
At a hearing on the bill earlier this year, Randy Rossi, executive director of the Rhode Island League of Cities and Towns explained the “significant logistical and financial challenges” municipalities otherwise would have faced having an election the day after Labor Day.
“Beyond cost, municipalities face serious logistical challenges accessing and setting up more than 430 polling locations on a major federal holiday, a process that often requires many hours and access to facilities that are typically closed and unstaffed on Labor Day,” he said.
“Compounding these challenges, many municipalities conduct early voting in city or town halls that must also serve as primary day polling locations,” Rossi noted.
Without changes to current law, he said, “municipalities would be required to conduct early voting and primary day polling simultaneously, often in the same limited space and with the same poll workers, requiring additional staffing and facilities.”
By the time this legislative hearing took place in January, other states facing similar issues, including Massachusetts, had already adjusted their primary dates, “and Rhode Island itself has demonstrated that alternative scheduling can be successful, as occurred during the statewide Wednesday primary in 2018,” Rossi said.
EAST GREENWICH, R.I. (WPRI) — If you’re looking to satisfy you’re sweet tooth, look no further than Division Street.
Nothing Bundt Cakes opened its first Rhode Island bakery in East Greenwich earlier this month. The new bakery is situated within East Greenwich Square, which is also home to the Ocean State’s first Crumbl.
The bakery is known for its handcrafted specialty Bundt cakes, as well as smaller “Bundtlets,” and bite-sized “Bundtinis,” that come in a variety of flavors.
“There’s a strong sense of local pride, creativity, and community here that aligns perfectly with our values,” said Jake Williams, who owns the East Greenwich bakery. “We were drawn to the area’s vibrant small business culture and the opportunity to contribute something special.”
Nothing Bundt Cakes is also expected to open another bakery at Chapel View in Cranston later this year.
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Watch 12 News Now on WPRI.com or with the free WPRI 12+ TV app.
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