Dustin Turner | Cleveland County Fair | Press release Bailey Jackson stands next to her community mural at the Fair. | Courtesy photo. CLEVELAND COUNTY FAIR – Shelby resident Bailey Jackson is leaving her mark at this year’s 102nd Cleveland County Agricultural Fair. “I saw the Facebook post looking for someone to do a mural at the fair, and I just love the fair,” she said. “I’ve been going since I was a kid. I'm volunteering this year anyway, so I jumped at the chance.” As th

By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent Chief Brian DiYorio, Boiling Springs Police Department, standing in front of the town's mural. | Photo by: Officer Talley BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – On Oct 1, 2026, Brian DiYorio, 39, celebrated his first anniversary as Chief of the Boiling Springs, N.C., Police Department. The Shelby Independent sat down with Chief DiYorio for a one-on-one interview, looking back at the past year, some of the highlights and changes, and also toward the

By Lauren Becatti | Opinion Gardner-Webb stidnets gather for a photo with the President of Finland(center). From left, Dr. Rennie, General Rudd, Maverick, President of Finland Alexander Stubb, Marisol, Molly, Bethany, Allie, Hilda. | photo by Dr. Richard Routh. From left, Marisol, Molly, Bethany, Allie, Hilda and Lauren. | photo by Dr. Richard Routh. Seven Gardner-Webb University students, including myself, had the honor of meeting the 13th President of Finland, Alexander Stu

By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent Customer Roger Randall smiles from the backseat of a 4-Passenger Club Car in the Allison Golf Cars showroom, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. | Chuck Thompson Boiling Springs, N.C. – People gathered while music played and hot dogs sizzled on the grill this past Saturday, for the Club Car open House at Allison Golf Cars. Their golf cars are everywhere. From driveways to fairways, concerts to corporate events, since 2009 Allison Golf Cars

By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent | THIRTY A rendering of how "Charlie" saw itself when I asked for a picture for the cover photo of the feature article. | Submitted portrait Editor’s Note: This conversation that isn’t quite like any conversation I've had before. I don't trust AI, mostly because it's new and I'm uneasy about it. I don't have a lot of experience with it and not onboard with the whole idea, yet, but I'm cautiously open-minded. However, I needed an of

By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent Shelby Police Chief Brad Fraser shakes hands with District Director for U.S. Congressman Tim Moore (NC-14) as Cleveland County Sheriff Alan Norman looks at the American Flag presented to him that flew over the Nation's Capitol. Sept 1. 2026. | Chuck Thompson Boiling Springs Police Chief Brian DiYorio and Sgt. Chris Williams at the appreciation lunch Sept. 1, 2026. | Chuck Thompson Feature Story / CLEVELAND COUNTY — It was a

By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent Bobby Floyd and Logan Clark were given the honors of washing down Tanker 24 from the old tanker it is replacing. | Chuck Thompson POLKVILLE — Polkville residents and the volunteer fire department had a lot to be thankful for this weekend, as they dedicated a new 3,000 gallon water tanker truck, Tanker 24. After 42 months, or about three and a half years of waiting on the arrival of the new tanker, Polkville Volunteer Fire Department

Republican nominee for the North Carolina Court of Appeals By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent FEATURE — Judge Craig Collins, 54, was driving from the Carolina Coast to the North Carolina mountains when I spoke with him on the phone as he traversed from the eastbound and down area of Brunswick County to the Northwest region of the state, encompassed by the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of Alleghany County. (He was not driving at the moment) Collins was traveling from

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 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 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

Making a difference one tip at a time By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent Cleveland County Crime Stoppers Board poses for a photo after their July meeting. | Chuck Thompson CRIME / FEATURE – Rebooted in 2022 after a dormant period of several years in Cleveland County, Crime Stoppers has been making a difference across the county by encouraging people to call in tips that lead to arrests, making the streets safer for residents across all four corners of Cleveland Count

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 Chuck Thompson | Exclusive to The Shelby Independent The Justice Center construction rises from behind the current courthouse, still far from completed, on July 20, 2026. | Chuck Thompson Editor’s note: This legal letter dated July 8, 2026 was discovered in a public records request by The Shelby Independent. This is a developing news story about the information within a letter and the information researched from other documents and previous news reports. A second part wi

By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent Hendrik Hagenkord, left, with BSPD Chief Brian DiYorio inside the Boiling Springs Police Department. | Chuck Thompson Boiling Springs, N.C. – Schützen und dienen. Protect and serve. You can say it in any language, and the motto remains the same. That was something Hendrik Hagenkord, a German police officer, discovered when he visited Boiling Springs, North Carolina, recently. Hagenkord is from the city of Wuppertal, Germany. Located

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 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