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

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

Staff Reports | The Shelby Independent Westmoreland Printers, Inc. staff. | Courtesy photo Charlotte, NC — The Printing Industry of the Carolinas (PICA) announced that Westmoreland Printers, Inc. in Shelby, NC, won the coveted Athens Best Printing (Division A) Award. This is the highest award given to a printing company of its size. In addition, Westmoreland Printers received four Best of Category awards. The awards were announced on Saturday, April 18, at the 60th Diamo

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

By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent Danny Blanton I don’t know if Hell hath frozen over (it was much colder on Monday) but Danny Blanton agreed to sit down with The Shelby Independent to talk about his campaign for the Cleveland County Board of Education. To say this wasn’t the most interesting interview would be to deny the truth, and there was also a bit of comical reprieve we had during the session. “Look at me, stop typing. Look at me so I know you’re listening; d

By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent Deb Hardin Deb Hardin, a candidate for and a current County Commissioner, is on the last lap of her second term. If reelected, she will begin her third term in December. That means Hardin has served on the board through massive changes across Cleveland County, from the Justice Center to the new Board of Elections building, the 911 Center and Two Kings Casino. Through all these projects, she said she has been concerned about the walle

By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent Laura Boggs Tharrington Laura Boggs Tharrington has called Cleveland County home since 1980 when she took her first breath as a newborn. This is her home. A 1998 graduate of Burns High School, she graduated from Gardner-Webb University and currently teaches at Crest High School. She teaches business principles, which includes being trustworthy, preparedness, integrity and all the ethical principles. "That's something important to me