THE SHELBY INDEPENDENT

Cleveland County Emergency Management and County leadership are closely monitoring the weather forecast and preparing for significant winter weather impacts. County officials are coordinating preparedness efforts to ensure the safety of residents. Community safety remains our top priority, and residents are encouraged to stay informed and take appropriate precautions ahead of the storm. If any county closures, service impacts, or operational changes occur, official updates

By Alan Wooten | The Center Square Cooper’s campaign said it raised $9.5 million and Whatley’s team said it raised $5.1 million. (The Center Square) – Michael Whatley is 30 points clear of his nearest Republican rival and has pulled within 5% of Democratic front-runner Roy Cooper in the race to win a seat from North Carolina in the U.S. Senate. Carolina Forward’s sampling from Jan. 5-7 released on Monday is closer between Cooper and Whatley than the last poll in September (Co

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

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 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

Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent CCS School Board in public session, Jan. 12, 2026. Editor’s note: The Shelby Independent encourages anyone, any elected official to write and oped to be published in The Shelby Independent, or any news publication. That is your right and it shouldn’t be infringed upon by fear of retaliation of your peers. However, there are certain guidelines to follow, and we don’t want you or anyone else to get in trouble for speaking to the media. Pe

Dennis Charles Pail Sr., 82, beloved husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, passed away on Jan. 4, 2026, in Shelby, North Carolina. He was born on Dec. 25, 1944, in Somers Point, New Jersey, to the late Alberta and Karl Pail. Dennis dedicated a significant part of his professional life to the lawn care industry, serving as a Lawn Technician for A1 Wilson for an impressive 25 years. Prior to this role, he honed his skills as a Tile Setter for a decade, demonstrat

Johnnie Lavone Greene, 83, of Shelby, NC, went to be with her Lord and Savior on Friday, Jan. 2, 2026. Johnnie is survived by her sister, Tena Greene Murray and husband Robert of Shelby, NC. Born June 23, 1942, in Cleveland County, NC, Johnnie was the daughter of the late Carrie Evelyn Greene, a niece, Kimberly Smith of Pickens, SC, a nephew, Jeff Murray and wife Lisa of Mooresboro, NC, and numerous great nieces and nephews. Johnnie was a loving sister and friend to all. She

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

Staff Reports Kings Mountain, NC - Monday evening, Jan. 5, officers with the Kings Mountain Police Department responded to a reported armed robbery in the parking lot of Kentucky Fried Chicken, located at 409 E. Kings Street. During the incident, two dirt bikes were taken by the suspects. Responding officers quickly located the stolen dirt bikes and attempted to intercept them. During the encounter, one of the suspects intentionally laid down the dirt bike, causing it to col

Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent property taxes Today (Monday, Jan. 5, 2026) was / is the last day for Cleveland County property owners to pay their property taxes before fees and penalties. The Shelby Independent took a trip to the county tax office on the last day of 2025 to interview residents paying their property taxes in person before the deadline; as one person noted, who wished to remain anonymous, he feels better paying it in person and getting a receipt right

Staff Reports | Cleveland County Government Courtesy photo Construction at the Midpines Convenience Center, located at 615 Margrace Rd., Kings Mountain, has been successfully completed following ongoing renovations that began on October 6, 2025. The project was finished on schedule, and the facility will reopen to the public on Monday, Jan. 5, at 7 a.m. “Thank you to our residents for their patience during this renovation. Working with our contractors and county staff, the re

Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent From left, Crest's Thompson hurdles over a Hunt player, a CCS School Board meeting, former Boiling Springs Mayor Daniel Thomas. It’s hard to believe that it’s the end of the year. The Shelby Independent might have only launched in June, publishing its first original piece on July 1, but with 250 articles published, it only makes sense to highlight the year in review with the TOP 10 LOCAL NEWS STORIES OF 2025, in Cleveland County. This w

Staff reports Shelby Independent created logo image file photo Cleveland County Register of Deeds Betsy Harnage announced that beginning Jan. 1, 2026, Registers of Deeds across North Carolina will be authorized to issue certified copies of adoptive birth certificates under provisions of Senate Bill 248, Birth Certificates for Persons Adopted. Senate Bill 248 (SB 248) was enacted by the North Carolina General Assembly in June and signed into law by Governor Josh Stein on Ju

The birth of Jesus

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

Staff Reports Congressman Time Moore, 14th Congressional District. Official photo WASHINGTON, D.C. — Already this week, the House Committee on Financial Services advanced the bipartisan Housing for the 21st Century Act (H.R.6644). Congressman Tim Moore (NC-14) voted to pass this legislation out of the committee, recognizing the importance of this legislation to streamline housing development and affordability by updating outdated programs, removing regulatory roadblock

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 City Council Dec. 15. 2025. Courtesy video file screenshot City of Shelby video The Shelby City Council meeting marked the end of an era, as it was City Manager Rick Howell’s final meeting in his position. Howell led the council meeting in its convocation before the meeting began. The agenda was approved as-is, with the motion made by Council Member Violet Arth. Former Council Member David Causby was recognized for his dedication of

By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent Marion isn’t going anywhere, one way or another, at least for now. On Monday night, the Cleveland County School Board was originally supposed to finalize the approval to sell the old Marion Elementary School to a nonprofit group, One More, One Less. In an unexpected move, Board Member and Vice-Chair Aaron Bridges made the motion to remove Marion from the agenda; Bridges stated he felt more discussion was needed before a decision coul