THE SHELBY INDEPENDENT

By Chuck Thompson | The Sunday Column OPINION / HUMOR – There’s a reason you always see people smiling, it’s friendly / warming, healthy and contagious. People are more likely to buy a product or vote for a person that smiles than not. Miss America contestants don’t smile because they want to; they smile because it makes a difference to the judges and the audience. Smiling can also be comical, depending on the situation. In the movie Elf, staring Will Ferrell, his character

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