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

Staff Reports | Cleveland County Government Photo courtesy of Cleveland County Government SHELBY, NC — Cleveland County Animal Services recently announced a strategic integration of its community cat initiative (the Trap, Vaccinate, and Release program), establishing a fully centralized system designed to maximize public safety, enhance animal welfare, and ensure strict fiscal accountability for taxpayers. The updated framework transitions the program into a fully in-house, s

By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent County Commissioners in session, June 16, 2026. Cleveland County – A swift breeze through the consent agenda filled with budget amendments and other items, along with a recognition for service, a grant for upper Cleveland and an educational historic gift were the focus of Tuesday night’s Cleveland County Board of Commissioner’s meeting. May 2026 collection report, May 2026 abatements and supplements, late applications for exemption /

By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent City of Shelby employee Ben Yarboro provides the city council with updates Monday evening, June 15, 2026. | City of Shelby video feed screenshot. Economic viability and a new water line replacement were the main discussion of Monday's city council meeting, with a brief discussion about A.I. use by city employees at the end of the meeting. The City of Shelby City Council meeting started with Mayor Stan Anthony requesting to amend the

By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent The special called Town of Boiling Springs Council meeting in session, June 9, 2026. | Chuck Thompson BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – The meeting was civil Tuesday night as the Town of Boiling Springs Council made a historic change to its insurance carrier after a half-century. Previously, at the June 2 meeting, it was suggested that the town government was allegedly being unethical by springing this upon their current provider, to which C

By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent Allen Langley, CCC Board of Trustees, wishes Tony Berry a happy birthday before addressing the CC Board of Commissioners Monday night. | The Shelby Independent It was a packed room at the Cleveland County Commissioner public meeting earlier this week as the board voted on the budget package for the upcoming fiscal year. There was the usual business to attend to, which included the consent agenda of budget amendments and resolutions.

By David Beasley | The Center Square Fiber optic cables connect in a network server rack. Photo: Brett Sayles / Pexels State / National / Affects local – North Carolina’s attorney general has asked the state utility commission to create a separate rate for large users of electricity such as data centers, an idea that was also endorsed Tuesday by the state’s governor. “We know that data centers are becoming a large part of the conversation," first-term Democratic Attorney Gene

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 City Manager Justin Merritt addresses the city council and those in attendance and watching online at Monday evening's council meeting. | City of Shelby video feed. SHELBY / Government – It was a packed house Monday evening as Mayor Stan Anthony welcomed everyone at the opening of the Shelby City Council meeting on Monday, June 1. “Glad to see a full house of our citizens,” said Anthony. “We’re always grateful for the opportunity of

By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent Shelby City Manager Justin Merritt speaks Saturday morning at the podium in council chambers addressing Friday's incident. Fraser announced the officer had been fired. | Video still City of Shelby video Shelby – The City of Shelby posted an updated video statement Saturday morning in regard to the Friday morning incident of an officer seen on a viral video, circulating social media, repeatedly punching a female suspect. “As of 8:30

By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent Cleveland County manager David Cotton presents the Board of Commissioners with the late audit findings while Chairman Kevin Gordon listens intently. | Video still CC video feed. The Cleveland County Board of Commissioners listened to County Manager David Cotton present the FY 2024-2025 Audit Response this past week during the May 19 public meeting. A consultant via the North Carolina of Commissioners was hired to assess the county’s

By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent Chief of Police Brad Fraser speaks from the podium in the City of Shelby Council chambers Friday evening. | City of Shelby video still SHELBY – A video circulating social media which shows a police officer using excessive force against a female suspect has caused an uproar across Shelby, which caused the City of Shelby to release statement at 6 p.m., Friday, regarding the event. In the video, which starts with the altercation alre

By Alan Wooten | The Center Square State News Affects Local – North Carolina scored poorly overall and is ranked No. 48 in the nation in financial transparency in a report released this week by Truth in Accounting. The report says the state “did not have audited financial reports for their largest pension plans, and a high percentage of complex and convoluted deferred items distorted their financial positions.” The report grades states on audit quality, timeliness, pension re

By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent Kings Mountain City Council during a special session, May 12, 2026. | The Shelby Independent KINGS MOUNTAIN, N.C. – The censure trial of the decade that began with Kings Mountain Council Member Scott Neisler has now expanded to include Kings Mountain’s mayor and another council member. The open censure investigation, which could reportedly cost the city as much as $20,000 in legal costs to outside counsel brought in to investigate

Staff Reports | The Shelby Independent Kings Mountain City Hall | The Shelby Independent KINGS MOUNTAIN, N.C. — In the wake of the current censure proceedings underway against City Council Member Scott Neisler, that could reportedly cost the city as much as $20,000, new alleged accusations have been brought to the council's attention and will be addressed tonight during a special-called meeting for TUESDAY May 12, 2026. According to the agenda, the meeting will cover three

By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent Boiling Springs Town Council during in session during the May 5, 2026 public meeting. | Chuck Thompson, The Shelby Independent. BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. — With Budget Season soon coming to an end, it looks as if Boiling Springs is ready to move forward with approval of their budget next month. The May Boiling Springs Town Council meeting picked up in full swing after the cancellation of the April meeting. Local Scout Pack 117 were on

By Philip Jackson, public information officer | N.C. Forest Service N.C. Forest Service N.C. Forest Service – The N.C. Forest Service has lifted a ban on all open burning for 81 counties effective 8 a.m. Sunday, May 3. The statewide ban on open burning went into effect March 28 due to hazardous forest fire conditions, and the ban remains in effect for Alamance, Anson, Cabarrus, Chatham, Davidson, Davie, Forsyth, Gaston, Guilford, Iredell, Mecklenburg, Montgomery, Moore, Ran

Staff Reports | Grace Davis | Office of Congressman Moore The U.S. Capitol. File photo | Media by Wix WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the House passed legislation to fund the Department of Homeland Security, the Senate Amendment to H.R. 7147, by voice vote. In this bill, Congressman Tim Moore secured $1,954,000 to build a new Cleveland County Emergency Operations Center. “Today, the House passed long-overdue funding for the Department of Homeland Security and made sure those who

By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent City Council in chambers during the April 20 meeting. public livestream photo still The City of Shelby continues to grow as new residential zoning requests bring forth new housing construction but not all rezoning applications have been approved, just yet. A couple of rezoning requests were presented to the city council during their most recent public meeting last week. These included Audrey Godfrey, senior planner for the City of S

Staff reports | The Shelby Independent | Press Release | Cleveland County government File photo graphic | The Shelby Independent Cleveland County — In the wake of several unsettling bomb threats against various Cleveland County government offices, the county sent out a press release on Friday April 24, in regards to the specific incident on March 10, stating their findings and noting enhancements made to safety protocols. However, no other information has yet been made availa