THE SHELBY INDEPENDENT

By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent Board member Walter Spurling, far left, speaks to the board Tuesday night, giving his farewell speech. EDUCATION – The Cleveland County Board of Education approved a calendar for the 2027-28 school year Monday night. The meeting also marked the final appearance of board member Walter Spurling, who is preparing to move to Florida after serving on the board. Each board member took time during the meeting’s closing remarks to recognize

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 POLITICS / EDUCATION – Dr. Jenny White does not describe herself as a politician; that is one of the first things she wants voters to understand. White, a retired teacher, coach and administrator with three decades of experience in North Carolina public education, is making her first run for elected office as a Democrat seeking a seat on the Cleveland County Board of Education. For White, the decision to run comes less from a desire

By Dustin Turner | Cleveland County Agricultural Fair | Press Release Cleveland County Fair — The Southern Steel Demolition Derby brings metal crunching, engine-roaring excitement to the Cleveland County Agricultural Fair for one night only. Be sure to catch the powerful collisions, battered cars, and nonstop thrills as drivers battle to be the last car running. The family-friendly, action-packed derby begins at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct.10. Demolition derby tickets are $8 for

By Alan Wooten | The Center Square Michael Whatley, former chairman of the Republican National Committee and Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in North Carolina, left, and Roy Cooper, former North Carolina governor and Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in North Carolina, right. Photo: Gage Skidmore / Flickr / CC BY-SA 4.0, NCDOTcommunications POLITICS – With apologies to Mark Twain, the reported campaign death of Republican Michael Whatley from lack of ongoing cash from

By Alan Wooten | The Center Square A USPS mail truck parks along a residential street as the postal carrier makes deliveries. | Joel Moysuh / Unsplash AFFECTS LOCAL / STATE – On-time delivery of the mail by the U.S. Postal Service in North Carolina was among the worst in the nation in the second quarter, a report from the agency’s dashboard says. North Carolina was No. 44, with on-time service percentage of 78.2%. That’s well below the target of 87% and the national norm of 8

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

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 /

Staff reports | Pinnacle Classical Academy Pinnacle Classical Academy Class of 2026 Education – Sixty-eight seniors graduated from Pinnacle Classical Academy on May 30 in a ceremony in the school's gymnasium. Twenty-two of the 68 were part of the school's first kindergarten class in 2013, and 75% of the graduates received an associate's degree or certificate from Cleveland Community College along with their high school diploma. Commencement speaker Jeremy Tate, CEO of the C

Staff Reports | Gracie Davis, Congressman Tim Moore's Office U.S. Congressman Tim Moore, NC-14 WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congressman Tim Moore (NC-14) released the following statement after President Donald J. Trump delivered the State of the Union address Tuesday evening: “Tonight, President Donald J. Trump delivered a powerful message that the State of our Union is strong and getting stronger. Under his leadership, the United States has our economy back on track, renewed re

Chuck Thompson | The Sunday Column It's not really a Super Bowl column... All I’ve been seeing and reading, this week, as far as op-eds and columns are concerned, are mostly Super Bowl this or that – and look at me complaining even though I’m reading them. That’s not a bad thing but do you really need one more column about The Patriots or The Seahawks or the halftime shows? No. There’s no more room on that bandwagon. In a post Belichick - Brady world, it’s nice to see New

By Alan Wooten | The Center Square (The Center Square) – Between 6 and 12 inches of snow and sleet were reported over the weekend near North Carolina’s border to Virginia and Tennessee and also in Buncombe County. A major winter storm gripping the nation from New Mexico to New England led to at least a dozen states getting federal emergency declarations from second-term Republican President Donald Trump. North Carolina is among them. The emergency declaration unlocks federal

By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent The school board forum will involve eight of the candidates, all republican, on Jan. 29, at The LeGrand Center. UPDATE: Jay Carpenter will not be attending as previously reported. Stephen Carroll Self will be attending now. Anyone interested in listening to the school board candidates’ personal stances on local education issues, and wanting to ask them questions, will have their chance next week. The Cleveland County GOP and Moms

By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent City Council listens as new City manager Justin Merritt gives his first public report as city manager, Jan. 12, 2026. courtesy photo. Shelby City Council kicked off 2026 with their first meeting of the new year. It was Justin Merritt’s first public meeting as the new City of Shelby Manager. The first order of business was to adopt the agenda as presented, which passed unanimously. Next was the public comments. A Shelby resident s

By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent Boiling Springs Town Hall, late summer 2025. File photo Chuck Thompson Boiling Springs, N.C . – Councilmember Justin Davis was sworn in Tuesday night at the beginning of the meeting. He was sworn in with his family by his side. Mayor Tommy Greene recognized the Crest High School Football team, reading a proclamation for their outstanding achievement winning the 5A State Championship. President of Gardner-Webb University, Nate

By Chuck Thompson | The Sunday Column The Sunday Column's new logo for 2026 OPINION / HUMOR – Looking back, how many times were we encouraged to set a new year’s resolution, either in school, from friends and family, news / TV shows or via social media. I can’t recall, but it seems to be quite often. What a nice thought, isn’t it? That’s really all it is, for most people, a thought. But, after doing research, according to several websites, such as Forbes, Pew Research Center,

OPINION – I’ll go ahead and tell you now, this will be this last new Sunday Column for the year; next week’s will be a rerun, because like everyone else, I need time off for the holidays, too. I don’t have a staff of employees to fall back on. For 98.5% of the work, it's only me. Even if it’s a wire news story, or not, or my amazingly talented freelancer Lauren Becatti, who has contributed a few news article to build her portfolio, has quite simply been a big help and I hope

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

By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent Dr. Tim Sims, (center right) Senior Pastor of Bethel Baptist Church, Shelby, leads a group of Wayne King’s supporters in a moment of prayer. Chuck Thompson | Shelby Independent With candidate filing well underway, many Cleveland County residents, both current elected officials and new hopefuls have stepped forward to throw their hat into the ring for elected office. Wayne King, a Cleveland County native and lifelong Kings Mountai

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