By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent From left, King's son Noah, his wife Nikki, Lucy and Wayne King at their home in Kings Mountain. | Chuck Thompson FEATURE — Sand squished underneath his shoes. The sound of the crunch with each step was heard as he took one step and then another until he found himself standing next to his wife, Nikki, on the sand of Kure Beach. A simple act that many of us never think twice about, but for Wayne King it was a victory more important

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

By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent From left, back row, BSPD Officer Fields, Chief DiYorio and Detective Paz, with Sarah, Tucker and Josie, at Scoop-A-Doodle-Doo on Thursday. | Haley Martin, Town of Boiling Springs. BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – Despite the rain on Thursday evening, there were no meltdowns at the first Cops and Cones event in Boiling Springs, hosted by The Boiling Springs Police Department and Scoop-A-Doodle-Doo. Kids and cops alike poured out for the fun e

By Wes Westmoreland | Special Guest Columnist for The Sunday Column Wes Westmoreland | The Sunday Column An excited John Adams wrote to his beloved Abigail: “The Second Day of July 1776… ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews (shows), Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever

By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent Turner Morris seen here riding in a saddle bronc event. Photo courtesy of Turner Wildman Morris Recovery Facebook, by permission UPPER CLEVELAND / GEORGIA – Saturday night, Burns rising senior Turner Morris was severely injured in a rodeo accident in Conyers, Georgia. Morris rides saddle bronc and bulls. He was air-lifted to Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta for emergency surgery. Turner’s neck was broken in the accident. Currentl

By Wes Westmoreland | The Sunday Column Wes Westmoreland | The Sunday Column The Sunday Column – There may be nothing that swells the heart with a greater feeling of patriotism and pride than the Stars and Stripes. Immortalized in song and memory, will anyone forget the emotion brought on by the display of flags on September 12, 2001, the sound of the “Stars and Stripes Forever”, or standing for our National Anthem? Some generations ago, the flag that brought about similar pa

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 Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent Martha Goodman Bridges stands in front of Warren F. Hoyle's memorial headstone. Hoyle was killed during The Great War, in 1918. His remains were buried in France. | Chuck Thompson MEMORIAL DAY, SUNSET CEMETERY – The sun stayed hidden behind the clouds as the rain stopped for The American Legion Squadron 82 family, made up of the Auxiliary Post 82 and Sons of The American Legion (SAL), which operates out of the Warren F. Hoyle Ameri

By Chuck Thompson | Shelby Independent The bell used for the Sounding of the Final Alarm was rung for each name honored on Friday. | Chuck Thompson, Shelby Independent. Shelby, Cleveland County – It was a time of somber remembrance at Shelby Fire and Rescue Friday at Noon, as The 2026 Cleveland County Fallen Firefighters Memorial Service honored local firefighters that gave their lives in Cleveland County while serving. As the rain pour down from above, Firefighters and th

By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent One More One Less submitted an upset bid on Friday, April 17, in the amount of 266,000 for the Marion school property. Cleveland County Schools – Last week, a few days after the Cleveland County Schools Board of Education accepted to move forward with an offer from Jerry Allen for the old Marion School property, One More One Less, the nonprofit organization who originally made an offer that was tabled by the school board several mon

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.

By Chuck Thompson | The Sunday Column Easter was always a big deal with my family when I was a kid. As a child, until maybe early teenage years, every Easter, my family would gather together in greater numbers than we would at Christmas. Everyone would come to my parents' or my grandparents' for Easter lunch / dinner. Aunts and Uncles, and cousins that we only saw at birthdays or funerals would come for Easter dinner. It was tradition for all the kids to go play outside; We w

Road to Hope and Crime Stoppers' Easter Bunny fundraiser continues this weekend By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent The Easter Bunny poses for a photo with road to Hope and Crime Stoppers members. From left to right, Robert Medlin, Zach Stearns, Mr. Bunny, Cheryl Yates, Jeff Yates, and Scott Howell. They will be at the mall again this Friday and Saturday only, for photos and raffle entries. Cleveland Mall – The Easter Bunny was such a big hit this past weekend, that a

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

By Paula Vess | Cleveland Community College Ai generated file photo CLEVELAND COMMUNITY COLLEGE – Three Cleveland Community College cosmetology students are proving that service goes far beyond the salon chair; it reaches into the heart of the community. Kenyatta Eskridge, Kallie McCoid, and Grace Pribble are representing CCC in the SkillsUSA Community Service Project competition, using their platform to support Washington Outreach Ministry, a local organization dedicated t

By Alan Wooten | The Center Square courtesy media file photo (The Center Square) CHARLOTTE – More than 100 flights were canceled and another 1,200 delayed over the weekend at North America’s seventh busiest airport for passengers. Charlotte Douglas International Airport, where 90% of flights are operated by American Airlines, needs hundreds of TSA workers for passenger, baggage and cargo areas. The Transportation Security Administration is within the Department of Homeland S

By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent Eason, left, and Rhoten announced their engagement last weekend. They will live in Cherryville, NC. Courtesy photo LAWNDALE – Last weekend Caroline Eason, candidate for the 110 NC House of Representatives announced her engagement to Matthew Rhoten on social media. Eason, a pharmacist, has been campaigning for the 110 seat since July of 2025. In a statement to the Shelby Independent, she said this blessing was unexpected and she

By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent Sara Tongel at Norris Merchandise, is a captain at Number 3 VFD and a sitting board member at Shanghai VFD. Chuck Thompson | Shelby Independent If you don’t know Sara Tongel, you’ve more than likely seen or spoken to her if you have ever been to Norris Merchandise on S. Lafayette, just south of Shelby. “I'm Secretary of State,” she laughed, when asked what her title is, when it comes to Norris Merchandise. “We’re a small family bus

Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent From left, Crest's Thompson hurdles over a Hunt player, a CCS School Board meeting, former Boiling Springs Mayor Daniel Thomas. It’s hard to believe that it’s the end of the year. The Shelby Independent might have only launched in June, publishing its first original piece on July 1, but with 250 articles published, it only makes sense to highlight the year in review with the TOP 10 LOCAL NEWS STORIES OF 2025, in Cleveland County. This w

Staff Reports | The Shelby Independent, North Pole Media Office Stocking hung, by the chimney with care. Santa's got a brand new sleigh! Recently, The Shelby Independent was able to obtain some inside information regarding Santa replacing his sleigh. While the reports remained unconfirmed from October, when we received the alleged information, The North Pole did send a press release confirming that Santa did indeed replace the sled that he has used since 1937. In the stateme