THE SHELBY INDEPENDENT

By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent Rep. Kelly Hastings EDITOR’S NOTE: The reporter for this article does not live in the 110 NC House District. Also, in a previous version of this article, a typo made it seem he had endorsed his opponent which he clearly stated he had not. This “was” has been changed to “wasn’t” - the correction has been made. Rep. Kelly Hastings grew up in Shelby; his wife, Anika, is from Cherryville , which is where they live today. Hastings is the

By Chuck Thompson | Shelby Independent Dr. Caroline Eason EDITOR’S NOTE: The reporter for this article does not live in the 110 NC House District. Caroline Eason is a graduate of UNC Chapel Hill Eshelman School of Pharmacy. She is not only a third-generation independent community pharmacist, but also is a Republican running for the 110 NC House seat. The district is one of 120 districts in the North Carolina House of Representatives. Eason, an Upper Cleveland native, with a

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

Staff Reports Odoms On Jan. 13, the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office arrested 𝐉𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐋𝐚𝐯𝐚𝐫 𝐎𝐝𝐨𝐦𝐬 following a narcotics investigation conducted by CCSO investigators. The investigation led to a vehicle stop and the execution of search warrants on both Mr. Odoms’ vehicle and his residence. As a result of those searches, investigators seized approximately 𝟖𝟑𝟎 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞 (𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐨𝐟 $𝟐𝟓,𝟎𝟎𝟎.𝟎𝟎), 𝟗

By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent A sign outside the CC Board of Elections, pointing the way to the main entrance. Chuck Thompson | Shelby Independent As the Friday Dec. 19 deadline looms for candidates to file for the 2026 primaries, the Cleveland County Commissioner race is crowded with seven hopefuls running for two seats, and a board of education race that so far has five republicans one democrat, and an unaffiliated candidate all running for four chairs. On t

Hastings calls for Brockman's resignation; Eason condemns behavior By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent N.C. Rep. Cecil Brockman...

Eason talked to The Shelby Independent about why she is running for 100 NC House