THE SHELBY INDEPENDENT

By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent All CCS Board members unexpectedly raise their hands to vote 9-0 to the Marion Resolution presented Monday night. | CCS YouTube photo still Cleveland County Schools – It was a quiet uneventful vote Monday night, as the Cleveland County Schools voted on the resolution to move forward with the bid process to accept Jerry Allen’s bid on Marion School property. Unlike meetings in the past regarding Marion, it was a calm process, with

By Alan Wooten | The Center Square A vehicle is refueled at a gas pump as evening light reflects off its surface. | Alan Wooten, The Center Square Affects Local – Forecast to take weeks not days for significant movement, a modicum of relief for traditional transportation energy prices has blown in with North Carolina’s weekend pollen. Monday’s average price statewide for a gallon of unleaded gasoline, according to AAA, was $3.89. That’s down from $3.90 a day earlier, $3.94

Staff Reports | Pinnacle Classical Academy The $28 million in loans made the building's construction and expansion possible. | Submitted photo: PCA Pinnacle Classical Academy – Federal, state, and local officials joined Sen. Debbie Clary, co-founder and board chair of Pinnacle Classical Academy, at the official dedication of Pinnacle Classical Academy's grade 4-12 school building at its Joes Lake Road campus on April 10. Sen. Clary thanked the USDA for the $28 million in

By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent File photo graphic | The Shelby Independent Kings Mountain – The City Kings Mountain government spoke out on what was potentially the possible, alleged, Scott Neisler censure proceedings currently in motion, but that remains uncertain at this time. This was followed a couple of hours later by another post about the leaking of the agenda for the upcoming April 14 meeting. Around end of business, on Friday April 10, City of Kings Mou

By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent City of Kings Mountain City Hall, summer 2025. | Chuck Thompson, Shelby Independent Kings Mountain – As the Tuesday city council meeting creeps closer, so does a possible censure for Council member Scott Neisler. For what reasons exactly, still remains unclear. In the city council meeting agenda for Tuesday, April 14, 2026, under the regular meeting agenda section, it states, "Motion to authorize the Mayor to enter into

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 | Kings Mountain Hometown Farmers’ Market Kings Mountain – The Kings Mountain Hometown Farmers' Market will kick off the 2026 market season on Saturday, April 25 with a special Grand Opening event. The market will operate at 313 S. Battleground Avenue from 8 am until 12 noon every Saturday morning through September 26. The Grand Opening on April 25 will include an Earth Day celebration that will provide attractions and activities for market shoppers of all ages.

Staff Reports | Cleveland County sheriff's Office | Press Release Trenity Glenn Campbell and Angel Lee McManus, both of Bessemer City were arrested for the bomb threats. Two suspects are behind bars after making threats to the clerks office in the Cleveland County Courthouse on Wednesday afternoon. On April 1, 2026, the Cleveland County Clerk’s Office received two bomb threats within approximately one hour of each other. In response, the building was immediately secured

By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent Philip Steffen | photo provided by Philip Steffen In the wake of the March 2026 County Commissioners’ public meeting, where it was revealed that the county audit was extremely past due, the county finance director has since been terminated from his position. During the March 17 meeting, the county commissioners seemed surprised to learn from an Local Government Commission (LGC) representative that the audit was past due. The bl

Staff Reports | Cleveland County Sheriff's Office A still-frame from a surveillance camera of the suspects CCSO needs the public's help in identifying or their whereabouts. courtesy photo One of the alleged suspects in question walking into a store. Courtesy photo, CCSO. Another bomb threat plagued Cleveland County Wednesday. On Wednesday afternoon, at approximately 3:04 p.m., the Cleveland County Clerk’s Office received a call stating a bomb was in the courthouse.

Road to Hope and Crime Stoppers' Easter Bunny fundraiser continues this weekend By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent The Easter Bunny poses for a photo with road to Hope and Crime Stoppers members. From left to right, Robert Medlin, Zach Stearns, Mr. Bunny, Cheryl Yates, Jeff Yates, and Scott Howell. They will be at the mall again this Friday and Saturday only, for photos and raffle entries. Cleveland Mall – The Easter Bunny was such a big hit this past weekend, that a

By Alan Wooten | The Center Square file graphic | The Shelby Independent (The Center Square) – Precedent setting cases at the U.S. Supreme Court and the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals guided a federal judge to upholding North Carolina’s photo identification voter requirement Thursday. North Carolina voters approved voter identification at the polls in 2018 through a constitutional amendment on the November ballot. In those midterms, 55.49% of nearly 3.7 million votes were

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 Alan Wooten | The Center Square file graphic | The Shelby Independent AFFECTS LOCAL – North Carolina has joined antitrust litigation filed in California seeking to block Nexstar’s $6.2 billion acquisition of rival Tegna, a move Attorney General Jeff Jackson says will send cable and satellite bills rocketing higher while local newsrooms are gutted. The first-term Democrat says eight northeastern counties, and the markets around Charlotte and Greensboro have 2 million cons

By Alan Wooten | The Center Square A CCSO deputy's vehicle assists with an accident, closing the lane for safety measures on Highway 74 eastbound, west of Shelby as commuters pass by in the left lane. | Chuck Thompson NORTH CAROLINA – From first to fourth, North Carolina’s administrative ratio remains among the best in the country in the Reason Foundation’s Annual Highway Report. The Tarheel State was among the most cost-effective road systems, measuring condition, s

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