THE SHELBY INDEPENDENT

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 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 | SBI staff reports Hyder (Photo from SBI Facebook page) SHELBY – The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) has charged former Shelby Police Officer Karson Hyder, 22, with one count of assault inflicting serious injury. In a statement released Monday morning around 11 a.m. on social media, The SBI announced the formal charge. According to the statement, Hyder turned himself in to the Cleveland County Detention Center at

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 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 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

By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent Video still from the livestream of the public City of Shelby Council Meeting on April 20. While many residents across the state, county and local municipalities have felt the heavy hand of recent high property taxes, The City of Shelby passed a resolution opposing any official property tax reform that may come from the North Carolina General Assembly later this year. At the beginning of the council meeting, a proclamation was made de

By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent Shelby City Council meeting, April 6, 2026. | Screen grab from City of Shelby video feed A new multi-family senior living complex had a special use permit approved Monday night during the city council meeting. The location of the future development is on E. Grover, in the bend, almost across the street somewhat from the Wyke Road intersection. A public hearing was held where Director of planning for the City of Shelby, Brian

Staff Reports | Healthy Together Cleveland Shelby, NC – During the Feb. 16 meeting, Shelby City Council members voted unanimously to approve an agreement with Healthy Together Cleveland (HTC) to establish a collaborative partnership to provide support for community health and wellness initiatives. “We are hopeful this partnership will benefit our residents by providing educational opportunities that encourage long-term, healthy living,” said Mayor Stan Anthony. The partners

Staff Reports Read the statement below in it's original form: The Shelby Independent

Press Release | Cleveland County Health Department CASAR / SHELBY – On Jan. 15, the Cleveland County Health Department was notified of two skunks that tested positive for rabies. The animals were found on Haywood Road in Casar and on Marion Street in Shelby. Any person exposed to potentially infectious saliva from an animal should contact their healthcare provider or CCHD for a rabies risk assessment. You may contact us at 980-484-5169 or 980-484-5100. Rabies occurs througho

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