THE SHELBY INDEPENDENT

By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent Daniel Thomas addresses the Boiling Springs Town Council Oct 6, 2026. | Chuck Thompson BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. — Former Boiling Springs Mayor Daniel Thomas complimented the town’s leadership and defended its long-term planning during Tuesday’s Town Council meeting, acknowledging residents’ concerns over rising water bills while arguing that maintaining aging infrastructure comes at a cost. Thomas, who served on the Town Council fro

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 / State – North Carolinians and others filling up at the state’s pumps for gasoline and diesel fuel are getting a break on the 41 cents per gallon tax. Effective immediately through Nov. 30, Relief at the Pump (House Bill 3 of first extra session) was signed into law on Friday by first-term Democratic Gov. Josh Stein

Press Release | Gabriel Thomas, Communications Specialist, City of Kings Mountain and Lance Hamrick, Asst. Chief, Kings Mountain Police Department | Cleveland County Schools Kings Mountain, N.C. — At approximately 1:37 p.m. today, the Kings Mountain Police Department (KMPD) received an initial report of a bomb threat directed toward Kings Mountain High School. Upon arrival at Kings Mountain High School, KMPD began evacuating students to the school's football field while law e

Dustin Turner | Cleveland County Fair | Press release Bailey Jackson stands next to her community mural at the Fair. | Courtesy photo. CLEVELAND COUNTY FAIR – Shelby resident Bailey Jackson is leaving her mark at this year’s 102nd Cleveland County Agricultural Fair. “I saw the Facebook post looking for someone to do a mural at the fair, and I just love the fair,” she said. “I’ve been going since I was a kid. I'm volunteering this year anyway, so I jumped at the chance.” As th

By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent Chief Brian DiYorio, Boiling Springs Police Department, standing in front of the town's mural. | Photo by: Officer Talley BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – On Oct 1, 2026, Brian DiYorio, 39, celebrated his first anniversary as Chief of the Boiling Springs, N.C., Police Department. The Shelby Independent sat down with Chief DiYorio for a one-on-one interview, looking back at the past year, some of the highlights and changes, and also toward the

By Alan Wooten | The Center Square Protect College Sports Act of 2026, known also as Senate Bill 4663, passed 77-22 Monday evening and next gets a stop at the House of Representatives. | file photo COLLEGIATE SPORTS — Regulation of college sports, potentially corralling a volatile period of amateur athletes zooming forward with multi-million dollar deals and major conferences expanding their footprints as valued TV properties, includes the support of both North Carolinians in

By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent Customer Roger Randall smiles from the backseat of a 4-Passenger Club Car in the Allison Golf Cars showroom, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. | Chuck Thompson Boiling Springs, N.C. – People gathered while music played and hot dogs sizzled on the grill this past Saturday, for the Club Car open House at Allison Golf Cars. Their golf cars are everywhere. From driveways to fairways, concerts to corporate events, since 2009 Allison Golf Cars

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 Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent President Donald Trump, in red cap, standing under NC state flag, greets those in attendance as he enters the stage at the 'Make America Safe Again' event at the Gastonia Airport on Wednesday. | Chuck Thompson A wider view of the event while President Trump speaks from the podium as the sun sets in the distance. | Chuck Thompson Local, State and National / GASTONIA - President Trump showed up in Gastonia on Wednesday to campaign

By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent Gardner-Webb University pictured in July, 2026. | Chuck Thompson BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – More shakeups are happening at Gardner-Webb University (GWU) as the school announced it had laid off roughly four percent of its workforce at the end of last week. After a university meeting on Thursday, layoffs commenced. Of the roughly 400 people employed at GWU, approximately 14 employees were no longer employed by the weekend. These layoffs,

By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent Shelby Police Chief Brad Fraser shakes hands with District Director for U.S. Congressman Tim Moore (NC-14) as Cleveland County Sheriff Alan Norman looks at the American Flag presented to him that flew over the Nation's Capitol. Sept 1. 2026. | Chuck Thompson Boiling Springs Police Chief Brian DiYorio and Sgt. Chris Williams at the appreciation lunch Sept. 1, 2026. | Chuck Thompson Feature Story / CLEVELAND COUNTY — It was a

By Ron Humphries | Contributing columnist to The Shelby Independent OPINION - Being a boomer and a member of the original TV generation, I watched my share of television as a child. We only had four channels, and TV time was mostly limited to evening news, family shows, and Saturday-morning cartoons. If the sun was shining, playing outside was the preferred form of entertainment. While lifestyles, particularly in rural areas, limited the negative effects of TV time, warnin

Unaffiliated bloc up 179,065, Democrats down 133,642 since Election Day 2024 By Alan Wooten | The Center Square File graphic | The Shelby Independent AFFECT LOCAL – One day shy of a full two weeks sooner than any other state in the nation, North Carolina county boards of elections on Friday will begin sending absentee ballots to any voter having made a request. The nation’s ninth largest state at 11.2 million is at 7,837,065 registrations, down 2,846 from the general election

Republican nominee for the North Carolina Court of Appeals By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent FEATURE — Judge Craig Collins, 54, was driving from the Carolina Coast to the North Carolina mountains when I spoke with him on the phone as he traversed from the eastbound and down area of Brunswick County to the Northwest region of the state, encompassed by the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of Alleghany County. (He was not driving at the moment) Collins was traveling from

By Rod Powell | Guest Opinion OPINION — A young couple trying to buy their first home in Cleveland County already has plenty working against them. Home prices are high. Interest rates are high. Insurance isn't cheap, and saving enough for a down payment can take years. Then they finally find a modest house they can afford and discover they're competing against a large investment company with cash ready to go. That's happening in North Carolina. Around Charlotte, corporate inv

By Ashley Reep | Wise News Network Shelby Independent Editor's note: The video above was an informal podcast-style conversation about the importance of local journalism. I didn't feel great that day and kept my talking to a minimum, but I want to thank Brandon Bridges of Cleveland County News for stepping up and covering the time while I stayed comparatively quiet. Also, a BIG thank you to Rusty Wise, and his team, for inviting us to the WNN studios for a really great convers

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 Sunday Column OPINION — No, it’s probably not what you think, sorry; its much worse. If you like apples, then just stop reading this right now… this is your warning… because if you read the whole thing then you’ll never look at apples the same way again. And don’t comment about how you’re offended, or upset about this, because I warned you – this is your last chance. Anything you read past this is your own choice… Apple picking season in North Carolina

By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent It may not be a secret, but the county government was not posting, promoting or talking publicly about the line-by-line cost of the new furniture for the new $210 million Justice Center, when Cleveland County Commissioner candidate, and front-runner, Wayne King filed a formal public records request for the cost of the new furniture near the end of July. In the documents, he discovered one floor of Cleveland County’s Justice Center wi

Overcoming the fear of public speaking and building the confidence to seize the speech By Chuck Thompson | Shelby Independent Toast of the town: The local Toastmaster chapter helps people overcome their fear of public speaking. From left, Mike Whitt, Emily Lesalle, Bill Jobe, Rich Taylor, Cynitra Stewart, Kim and Rod Powell. | Chuck Thompson Feature – Some may not think twice about it, but public speaking is a real fear for many people. Toastmasters is an international organi