By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent Fun-goers walk around during the End of Summer Bash at Clay-Barnette, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026. Clay-Barnette staff gathered for a photo during their End of Summer Festival | Chuck Thompson SHELBY — Clay Barnette Funerals Cremations and Aquamations hosted an End of Summer Community Event Festival at their Shelby location over the weekend. A large crowd of families turned out for music, fun and food. The parking lot was filled with th

By Ashley Reep | Wise News Network Shelby Independent Editor's note: The video above was an informal podcast-style conversation about the importance of local journalism. I didn't feel great that day and kept my talking to a minimum, but I want to thank Brandon Bridges of Cleveland County News for stepping up and covering the time while I stayed comparatively quiet. Also, a BIG thank you to Rusty Wise, and his team, for inviting us to the WNN studios for a really great convers

By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent Eddie Holbrook and Robert Farrow go over final details before the event. SPORTS / FEATURE — The American Legion World Series (ALWS) Host City Welcome is the ceremonial event that marks the official kickoff to the series. Robert Farrow, this year's overseer of the event, was followed around by the Shelby Independent before the dinner to take a look inside the event. To say Robert Farrow is difficult to keep up with is an understatemen

By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent Volunteers prep, cook and take orders at the Post 82 concession booth on Thursday. | Chuck Thompson SPORTS — If you ever have or currently are attending the American Legion World Series at Shelby High School, then it would be almost impossible not to walk by the brick concessions stand run by the volunteers at Post 82. The Post 82 concessions stand isn’t for profit, in fact, they’re lucky to make a profit sometimes, in turn which th

By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent Tickets for 'Echoes From the Void' can be purchased by clicking / tapping on this movie poster or the link at the end of this article. ENTERTAINMENT – This Saturday Aug. 8, 2026 (today) An indie film ‘Echoes from The Void’ will premier at Don Gibson Theater. What makes this movie so special is that it was produced by a local filmmaker and shot mostly here in Cleveland County. Brad Hord, writer, producer and composer of the film, is a

By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent Shelby police Chief Brad Fraser with some of the dedicated officers of The Shelby Police Department | Photo by Chuck Thompson Shelby City Park – Once again, the rain showed up for National Night Out as it did last year, but that didn't keep first responders and families away from the fun at The Shelby City Park. Less than perfect weather caused vendor and organization booths to be moved indoors, but the rain dwindled to a sprinkle

Overcoming the fear of public speaking and building the confidence to seize the speech By Chuck Thompson | Shelby Independent Toast of the town: The local Toastmaster chapter helps people overcome their fear of public speaking. From left, Mike Whitt, Emily Lesalle, Bill Jobe, Rich Taylor, Cynitra Stewart, Kim and Rod Powell. | Chuck Thompson Feature – Some may not think twice about it, but public speaking is a real fear for many people. Toastmasters is an international organi

Originally published July 29, 2025 By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent The logo for the podcast seen on podcast platforms. Editors note: This feature was originally published July 29, 2025. Since this was published during the infancy of The Shelby Independent I thought now would be a good time to share this feature again for those readers that missed it the first time. Other articles from last year will be published again from time to time, due to the large number of n

By Chuck Thompson | Shelby Independent Christine Hayes waves as others throw candy from the Pleasant Ridge Baptist Church wagon float during the Lattimore 4th of July parade OPINION – Lattimore is the small-town place to be. It really is. The 4th of July in Lattimore felt like one of those movie towns. It almost didn’t seem real – but it was, it is. Having just been less than two weeks out since I had a heart attack, I wanted to go to the parade but knew I had to take it easy

By Wes Westmoreland | Special Guest Op-Ed Columnist for The Shelby Independent OPINION – Ink-stained hands methodically distributed lead soldiers into the wooden case. Robert Bell had known tough times in Scotland, and even tougher times in Dublin, but these times were different. It had been only five years since he arrived in Philadelphia and set up a press. In those few years, he had become a widely recognized printer and publisher, creating a market by offering low-cost

By Chuck Thompson | Shelby Independent Opinion – Wow! it's been quite a year! The plan was to look back at the most memorable news stories from the past year, but a little thing called a heart attack prevented me from completing that special news story this past week. Maybe it’s best. Maybe I’ll get to it later this month. We’ll see... To say The Shelby Independent almost didn’t make it to its first anniversary is putting it lightly. However, today isn’t about what almost hap

By Alan Wooten | The Center Square North Carolina could be competing against Nashville, TN for a spot. | graphic by The Shelby Independent. SPORTS – Stopping short of saying spend taxpayer dollars, North Carolina’s legislative upper chamber leader says he favors the General Assembly doing all it can to help land a Major League Baseball expansion franchise. Whether it’s Raleigh or Charlotte, Rockingham County Republican Sen. Phil Berger said he’s “agnostic.” He was also noncom

By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent The town of Boiling Springs Mural is composed of 2,000 tiles each printed from hand painted tiles by individuals to create the mural mosaic called "Reflection" BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – Boiling Springs unveiled their mural mosaic "Reflection" on Wednesday, June 3, at 11 a.m. to a large crowd of town residents, Boiling Springs Town Council members and other local leaders and elected officials from across Cleveland County. People all t

By Gideon Simmons | Special to The Shelby Independent A bear is seen crossing Westlee Street in Lattimore on May 8, 2026. | Courtesy photo still frame from video. Town of Lattimore Facebook page. Photo credit: Rachael Metcalf. Lattimore — Who would have ever thought that the most viewed post on the Town of Lattimore’s Facebook page would have been about a bear wandering through the Town? Over a week ago, the mayor was sent a picture and a video by two residents that showed a

By Adrian Hamrick | AWLS | Dir. of Operations The Jim Horn family gathered for a photograph at home plate. | ALWS courtesy photo SHELBY, N.C. — The American Legion World Series (ALWS) Executive Committee once again delivered a memorable evening of baseball at Keeter Stadium as Wake Forest University defeated Appalachian State University 3–2 in the annual Jim Horn Tribute Game on Tuesday night. After a brief morning shower cleared, fans were treated to a beautiful evening f

Staff reports | Kings Mountain Hometown Farmers’ Market Kings Mountain – The Kings Mountain Hometown Farmers' Market will kick off the 2026 market season on Saturday, April 25 with a special Grand Opening event. The market will operate at 313 S. Battleground Avenue from 8 am until 12 noon every Saturday morning through September 26. The Grand Opening on April 25 will include an Earth Day celebration that will provide attractions and activities for market shoppers of all ages.

Take a photo with the Easter Bunny, and enter for a chance to win a 70" TV By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent Officer Randy Conner, left, and Cleveland County Crime Stoppers Chairman Jeff Yates show one of the two TVs that will be raffled at the Cleveland Mall. | Chuck Thompson Cleveland Mall – The Easter Bunny will be at the Cleveland Mall giving away two 70” televisions in a raffle drawing, thanks to Cleveland County Crime Stoppers and Road to Hope - Shelby. B

Free Admission for Community Celebration at Keeter Stadium Staff Reports | Adrian Hamrick | ALWS Executive Committee Wake Forest University takes on Appalachian State University on Tuesday, April 28 at 6 p.m. at Keeter Stadium SHELBY, N.C. – The American Legion World Series (ALWS) Executive Committee will once again bring top-tier college baseball to Shelby as Wake Forest University takes on Appalachian State University on Tuesday, April 28 at 6 p.m. at Keeter Stadium, the ho

By Alan Wooten | The Center Square A pocket copy of the U.S. Constitution rests on an American flag. Alan Wooten / The Center Square (The Center Square) – Eighty-nine of 100 counties in North Carolina have America 250 NC committees, and more than $2 million in grants have already been distributed to 74 counties by the state Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. The first of multiple signature events begins in three weeks at the First in Freedom Festival. “In 20

Staff Reports file graphic The Cleveland County Arts Council has rescheduled their largest fundraiser of the year, due to weather concerns, for late February. The 2026 Big Chill Casino Night and Silent Disco! Tickets are $125 per person, and the event will be held on Saturday, Feb. 21 from 7 - 11 p.m. at the Cleveland Country Club, located at 1360 E. Marion St., Shelby, N.C. There will be fun and games, including black jack, craps, roulette, Texas Hold 'em, and a poker tourna