THE SHELBY INDEPENDENT

By Wes Westmoreland | The Sunday Column Wes Westmoreland | The Sunday Column The Sunday Column – There may be nothing that swells the heart with a greater feeling of patriotism and pride than the Stars and Stripes. Immortalized in song and memory, will anyone forget the emotion brought on by the display of flags on September 12, 2001, the sound of the “Stars and Stripes Forever”, or standing for our National Anthem? Some generations ago, the flag that brought about similar pa

By Wes Westmoreland | The Sunday Column Wes Westmoreland Listen my children, and you shall hear Of the midnight ride of… Captain Jack? It was late May in 1775 when Captain James Jack left Charlotte Towne, North Carolina, and set out on a long journey on horseback to meet fellow North Carolinians in Philadelphia. The document he carried, dated May 20th, stowed inside his coat for protection, was of the utmost importance. And it was treasonous. By carrying the document, he ca

Staff Reports | The Shelby Independent Westmoreland Printers, Inc. staff. | Courtesy photo Charlotte, NC — The Printing Industry of the Carolinas (PICA) announced that Westmoreland Printers, Inc. in Shelby, NC, won the coveted Athens Best Printing (Division A) Award. This is the highest award given to a printing company of its size. In addition, Westmoreland Printers received four Best of Category awards. The awards were announced on Saturday, April 18, at the 60th Diamo

By Wes Westmoreland | The Sunday Column | Special to The Shelby Independent Westmoreland April 12 marks the 250th anniversary of a largely forgotten, but significant date in American history. On this date in 1776, the Fourth Provincial Congress of North Carolina met in Halifax and unanimously passed a measure instructing its delegates to the Continental Congress to vote to declare independence from Great Britain. With the Halifax Resolves, North Carolina became the first co

By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent The Political Smackdown logo on C19TV, at Cleveland Community College. This week’s episode of Political Smackdown began with Betsy Wells (D) speaking first, honoring the life and legacy of Dot Roark, who passed away in late December. Roark helped bring C19 to life at Cleveland Community College. The panel discussed the school board, regarding the events following the meeting, “If anyone needs an intervention, it’s the school board,”

By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent Political Smackdown logo on C19TV, recorded in the John O. Harris Jr. studio Cleveland Community College C19TV’s Political Smackdown, hosted by Mike Philbeck -R, Betsy Wells -D, Wes Westmoreland -R, and Andy Dedmon -D, had their last regular episode of the year on the last Friday before Christmas. Former Shelby Mayor Mike Philbeck began the show by mentioning former North Carolina Governor James B. (Jim) Hunt, who recently passed aw