THE SHELBY INDEPENDENT

Take a photo with the Easter Bunny, and enter for a chance to win a 70" TV By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent Officer Randy Conner, left, and Cleveland County Crime Stoppers Chairman Jeff Yates show one of the two TVs that will be raffled at the Cleveland Mall. | Chuck Thompson Cleveland Mall – The Easter Bunny will be at the Cleveland Mall giving away two 70” televisions in a raffle drawing, thanks to Cleveland County Crime Stoppers and Road to Hope - Shelby. B

By Alan Wooten | The Center Square Airline passengers are seated inside a cabin of a commercial plane. | Oxana Melis / Unsplash CHARLOTTE — Cancellations and delays at North America’s seventh busiest airport were down 90.7% and 35.5%, respectively, for the Friday-Saturday-Sunday weekend compared to the one before, analysis by The Center Square shows. The spike March 13-15 at Charlotte Douglas International Airport coincided with the f

By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent The Cleveland County Administrative Building | Chuck Thompson An alleged botched protocol after a bomb threat and a late county audit put County Manager David Cotton in the hot seat last Tuesday evening. The March Cleveland County Commissioners’ meeting was going as expected until during the public comments section, Angelica Haslam spoke to the commissioners about the prank bomb threat made to the county administration building,

By Paula Vess | Cleveland Community College Ai generated file photo CLEVELAND COMMUNITY COLLEGE – Three Cleveland Community College cosmetology students are proving that service goes far beyond the salon chair; it reaches into the heart of the community. Kenyatta Eskridge, Kallie McCoid, and Grace Pribble are representing CCC in the SkillsUSA Community Service Project competition, using their platform to support Washington Outreach Ministry, a local organization dedicated t

By David Beasley | The Center Square file | The Shelby Independent (The Center Square) – North Carolina voters could get the chance to vote in November on a constitutional amendment that would give the Legislature marching order to put the brakes on rising property taxes. Dan Ettefagh, the director of the General Assembly’s bill drafting division, presented the proposed constitutional amendment to a committee in the House of Representatives on Wednesday. It would “impose by

By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent Board of election workers work the day away during the recount Wednesday afternoon. | Chuck Thompson A primary recount was held Wednesday for the Cleveland County Schools Board of Education candidate Shelia Canipe, who made the request after the March 3 primary, where she trailed incumbent Vice-Chair Aaron Bridges by only 48 votes. Canipe requested the recount on the Monday after Canvas; she had to file the request in writing. No

By Alan Wooten | The Center Square courtesy media file photo (The Center Square) CHARLOTTE – More than 100 flights were canceled and another 1,200 delayed over the weekend at North America’s seventh busiest airport for passengers. Charlotte Douglas International Airport, where 90% of flights are operated by American Airlines, needs hundreds of TSA workers for passenger, baggage and cargo areas. The Transportation Security Administration is within the Department of Homeland S

By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent Crest fb page public courtesy photo CREST HIGH SCHOOL – A potential gunman at a school or a tornado; either one would frighten students, teachers and parents alike, but for both to happen at the same time, is both scary and yet a sigh of relief, once it was discovered the incident at Crest was a false alarm. As the skies swirled above southwest Cleveland County, an active shooter alert sounded in the classrooms at Crest High Scho

By David Beasley | The Center Square File graphic | The Shelby Independent NORTH CAROLINA – In just seven years, North Carolina could reach a demographic milestone: more deaths than births, according to new projections by the state’s demographer Michael Cline. “Unless fertility or life expectancy rise significantly, future population growth will depend entirely on domestic and international migration,” Cline wrote. “As the gap between births and deaths widens, population gro

Staff Reports | Cleveland County Sheriff's Office | The Shelby Independent Cleveland County Sheriff's Office executed a search warrant at 2247-B Flint Hill Church Road. Courtesy photo CCSO. (NEAR) BOILING SPRINGS – Several arrests were made and an alleged drug house was shut down after the Cleveland County Sheriff's Office executed a search warrant following an extensive narcotics investigation on Tuesday. On March 10, the Cleveland County Sheriff's Office executed a sea

By Chuck Thompson | Shelby Independent The CCS Board of Education during their public meeting, March 9, 2026. The discussion over Marion took the main focus last night , as school board members made their thoughts known, keeping in line with where they had been before, months ago, with a few exceptions. Board of Education members Aaron Bridges and Gloria Sherman seemed to have shifted slightly, not in their sincerity to sell the building, but in shifting to supporting an open

By Chuck Thompson | Shelby Independent file photo A shooting ended with one arrested and one hospitalized yesterday afternoon. On Monday, March 9, The Shelby Police Department responded to a reported shooting at the 800 block of Logan Street at 3:55 p.m. In a statement released by Shelby Police Chief Brad Fraser, it stated, “Upon arrival, officers discovered an individual had been shot and already transported to the local hospital for treatment for non-life-threatening injur

Staff Reports | Cleveland Community College Cleveland Community College – On Saturday, March 7, Cleveland Community College’s women’s basketball team captured the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II Region 10 Championship with a victory over the Fayetteville Technical Community College Trojans. “This championship is a reflection of the work these players put in when nobody was watching,” said Head Coach Ford “Scooter” Lawrence. “They earned this

By Chuck Thompson The Shelby Independent Board of Education candidate Shelia Canipe has confirmed that she plans to move forward with a recount request. Speaking with The Shelby Independent this afternoon, Canipe said she will ask for a recount on the Monday after Canvas, which is March 13. “I've had several of my supporters who have requested that I asked for a recount, and I feel like I owe that to the ones who supported me,” said Canipe. This is a developing story. Check..

Staff Reports | Cleveland Community College Cleveland Community College (CCC) has received a $10,000 community investment from AT&T to expand its Digital Navigator Program, further strengthening digital access and literacy efforts for adult learners and community members throughout Cleveland County. CCC is one of only eight colleges selected to receive this funding. On Tuesday, February 24, Kathleen Evans, Regional Director of External Affairs for AT&T, accompanied by Chrisy

Staff Reports | Cleveland County Government Courtesy photo Cleveland county Gov. Cleveland County Government – The annual Household Hazardous Waste Day, sponsored by the Cleveland County Health Department, NC Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, and Cleveland County Cooperative Extension, provides Cleveland County residents with a safe way to dispose of common household items including pesticides, car batteries, paints, and much more. Bring your items to the Clev

By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent Some candidates watched the results at The Cleveland Volunteer Fire Dept. Tuesday night. Top vote-getters, Danny Blanton speaks to Republican primary commissioner winner Wayne King, March 3, 2026. file photo. Caroline Eason, July 2025. Shelby Independent. This news story has been updated to include Eason’s comments. SHELBY – Of the 68,699 registered voters in Cleveland County, 11,806 (17%) participated in an unbelievably historic ha

By Alan Wooten | The Center Square file logo The Shelby Independent (The Center Square) – Early in-person voting ended Saturday and primary Election Day finishes the 51-day voting window in North Carolina on Tuesday. Polls close at 7:30 p.m. and winners advancing to the U.S. Senate race are expected to be known quickly – Roy Cooper for Democrats, Michael Whatley for Republicans. Two other congressional primaries are garnering attention: the redrawn 1st Congressional Distric

Commentary | The Shelby Independent OPINION — It’s March 3, the day most candidates have been waiting for (those that have a primary) and it couldn’t be sweeter or finer than to be in Carolina during this election of attrition, as many candidates have continued to nuke each other into oblivion right up to today. In the local races, Tim Moore is facing off across the wolf in sheep’s clothing: Kate Barr, pretending to be a Republican. This race has only been vicious from her si

By Alan Wooten | The Center Square Whatley speaks at The Shelby Cafe in September 2025, with NC House Rep. Paul Scott next to him. Photo by: Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent (The Center Square) NORTH CAROLINA – Michael Whatley is favored by 38.3% for U.S. Senate and 80.9% of respondents give approval to the job done by second-term Republican President Donald Trump, a new poll released Thursday says. The sampling of 600 likely Republican primary voters was taken