Staff Reports | Cleveland Community College EDUCATION – Cleveland Community College’s Vice President of Academic Affairs, Dr. Bruce Mack, was selected to participate in the 2026 Aspiring Presidents Institute, held September 30 – October 2. “It is truly an honor to be selected to participate in the Aspiring Presidents Institute,” said Mack. “I recognize that this opportunity represents a significant investment in current and future leaders across North Carolina’s Community Col

By Alan Wooten | The Center Square Raleigh – One week after the state consumer agency said it fined 10 locations, North Carolina has joined litigation against Tennessee-headquartered Dollar General in a federal court saying prices rung up at the register do not match prices on shelves and in advertisements it says are a “long-running deceptive pricing practices” scheme. Relief sought by the state is not quantified; rather, the case led by the Federal Trade Commission and incl

By Alan Wooten | The Center Square Health / Affects Local – In exchange for ending a pricing plan, Atrium Health has been returned to in network for the State Health Plan in North Carolina to resolve a conflict that escalated and generated confusion just as the healthcare open enrollment period was beginning. The move announced jointly by Atrium and first-term Republican state Treasurer Brad Briner on behalf of the nearly 750,000 teachers, state employees, retirees, lawmakers

By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent CRIME / AFFECTS LOCAL — North Carolina law enforcement agencies are increasing patrols and conducting sobriety checkpoints through Nov. 1 as part of the state’s annual Halloween impaired-driving enforcement campaign. The Governor’s Highway Safety Program announced the return of its “Booze It & Lose It” campaign ahead of Halloween, reminding motorists to plan ahead and arrange safe transportation before attending celebrations. The enf

By Bradley Hanson | Communications Specialist II, Greenheck Group LAWNDALE, N.C. – About 60 Burns High School students spent the morning of Oct. 14 turning kits of popsicle sticks, coffee stirrers and small DC motors into working electric vehicles, then raced them head-to-head in a bracket-style competition. The event was the first Engineering Tomorrow lab in Cleveland County and delivered with the help of seven engineers from Greenheck Group, which employs about 700 team me

By Chuck Thompson | The Sunday Column OPINION — On June 21 October 27 stopped being just my birthday. It became a milestone because I simply get another birthday. This column isn’t about saying ‘it’s my birthday,’ it’s about being thankful that I’m here to celebrate what this birthday means to me. I get to complain and make jokes about turning 48 and most importantly, I get to wake up that morning... That’s a great birthday present. There was a time when I probably wouldn’t h

By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent Politics - More than 9,200 ballots have been cast during early voting in Cleveland County, with Republicans accounting for a growing share of voters since the opening day, according to figures from the Cleveland County Board of Elections. The report, timestamped 8:06 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 22, shows that 9,203 ballots had been cast across the county’s three early-voting sites ahead of the Nov. 3 general election. Democrats accounted for

Jen Ashby | Communications Director for Congressman Tim Moore Congressman Tim Moore at the NC liver Mush Festival, Oct. 17, 2026. | Chuck Thompson State and National - Congressman Tim Moore (NC-14) announced more than $871 million in federal funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) for Hurricane Helene recovery across North Carolina, including the 14th Congressional District. Funding will go to the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT), U.S. Fo

By Alan Wooten | The Center Square State / affects local — North Carolina has more than enough money to pay its outstanding bills and earned a B grade in the 17th annual Financial State of the States 2025 report. Released Thursday by Truth In Accounting, the analysis for fiscal year 2025 – ending June 30, 2025 – said any state with a taxpayer surplus between $1 and $9,999 gets a B. The report says $76.9 billion is available to pay $49.8 billion worth of bills, generating a $2

By Ron Humphries | Contributing Columnist OPINION — Information moves quickly, and sensational claims often command the most attention. It’s easy to assume we can spot manipulation when we see it, but advertising history suggests otherwise. Persuasion often works not by making us believe something outrageous, but by making a sales pitch feel like common sense. In the 1920s, the Beech-Nut company wanted to sell more bacon. Its public-relations adviser, Edward Bernays, Sigmund

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 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 than the

Staff Reports | City of Kings Mountain

By Brandon Bridges | Guest Columnist Bridges OPINION — As a lifelong Cleveland County resident, I'm ashamed to say that this year was a first for me to attend the NC Liver Mush Festival in my hometown of Shelby, North Carolina. From work obligations to other events, the Liver Mush Festival was something that I had always wanted to attend, yet always seemed to be on a weekend that I had already obligated for something else. Waking up at 6:30 on a Saturday was well worth it to

By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent After spending 30 years in the classroom, retired history teacher Rod Powell says he has spent much of his retirement doing anything but slowing down. Now, the Casar resident is hoping to take that experience to Raleigh as he challenges the incumbent for North Carolina Senate District 44, which includes Cleveland and Lincoln counties and part of Gaston County, including Cherryville. Powell, who holds a master’s degree in teaching, mo

By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent Dover Baptist Church as seen from the back, Sunday morning. | Photo courtesy of Wendell Leonard. SHELBY, N.C. — Dover Baptist Church, located at 1501 Polkville Road in Shelby, was destroyed by fire Sunday morning, Oct. 18, leaving the congregation facing the loss of its church building. The fire was reported at approximately 8 a.m. Sunday. Images from the scene showed extensive damage to the church, including a burned roof and the

By Chuck Thompson | The Sunday Column The Livermush Festival, Uptown Shelby, looking south down Washington St., Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026. OPINION — There were so many people at the 2026 Livermush Festival in Uptown Shelby (while I was there) on Saturday, Oct. 17, that in my opinion, it resembled something of a calm liver-mosh pit of organized chaos. You couldn't walk more than a few feet without somebody bumping into you, or you bumping into somebody else. Food lines were so

By chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent Politics — Early voting got off to a strong start in Cleveland County, with 3,199 ballots cast during the first two days of voting ahead of the Nov. 3 general election. According to figures reported by the Cleveland County Board of Elections, 1,619 voters cast ballots on the first day of early voting Thursday, Oct. 15, followed by another 1,580 on Friday, Oct. 16. The combined total after two days reached 3,199. The figures offer an

Robert Queen seeks return to Cleveland County school board after being voted out during the last election. By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent Robert Queen is seeking another term on the Cleveland County Board of Education, hoping voters will give him an opportunity to return to a school board where he once served as a member and chairman. Queen, a Crest High School graduate who earned a degree from N.C. State University in 1989, said he wants to build on the work acco

By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent Editor’s Note: This Facing the Voters feature was originally published on November 25, 2025, and is being republished ahead of the November 3, 2026, general election. The article reflects the statements and positions expressed during the original interview in November 2025. In an exclusive local interview, Congressman Tim Moore, of the 14th District, spoke with The Shelby Independent, discussing issues that affect both the district (

By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent Editor’s Note: This Facing the Voters feature was originally published in February 2026 and is being republished ahead of the November 3, 2026, general election. The article reflects the candidate’s statements and positions at the time of the original interview. If you haven’t heard of Ronnie Grigg, at least recently, then you’re possibly hiding under a rock or have just avoided all the political drama as long as possible. Grigg, an