A couple active in community affairs will add a younger perspective to an organization focused on changing Shelby for the better.
Alexsis Vinson and Brian Huskey hope to bridge a generational gap they see in Partnership for Change, an organization established eight years ago to bring community resources, law enforcement and the faith community together to address different issues.
“We believe that making the change starts with us,” Vinson said.
A younger group can better work to move Shelby forward, said Shelby Police Chief Jeff Ledford.
“As the year (2020) went on we had social justice issues. It prompted a lot of conversations of what we need to do in the community,” he said.
Big Lots in Shelby will be moving.
Walt Scharer, the planning and services director with the city of Shelby, said the discount chain announced last year that they would be moving locations to the shopping center the houses Hobby Lobby further down East Dixon Boulevard than its current location. They have been moving really slow, he said.
The store, located at 1645 E. Dixon Blvd., Shelby, is one of several storefronts in the Shelby Plaza Shopping Center owned by Waterstone Southeast Portfolio LLC, according to Cleveland County mapping system.
For more than a decade Big Lots has called that storefront home.
The Shelby Star
A homeowner’s concern about water runoff from the Shelby Bypass onto her property isn’t something the state can fix, according to state engineers.
Beverly Phillips, of Little Pound Drive just off of N.C. 150, has been concerned that excess water flow and silt on her property for the last three months has caused standing water and excess sediment in her pond. She believes all of it is runoff from the bypass being constructed next to her property. She invited engineers with the North Carolina Department of Transportation, state Sen. Ted Alexander and County Commissioner Ronnie Whetstine to tour her property to see it for themselves on Friday.
Shelby has its eyes set on building a park near uptown, but it needs public input first.
On Tuesday night, more than a dozen community members and city employees gathered at the City Park to learn more about phase 1 of the new Shelby Rail Trail Depot Park segment and give their thoughts on the project.
The city plans to build a four-acre park that would connect to the more than 10-mile Shelby Rail Trail that extends from the First Broad River to the North and South Carolina border near Earl. To make this project a reality, the city needs to secure the funds to build the estimated $1.7 million park. Shelby hopes to fund some of it with a North Carolina Parks and Recreation Trust Fund grant.
After five years, law enforcement continues to search for the father of one of their own.
“Any missing persons case we always take seriously. But this case in particular hits close because his son is a Sheriff’s Office employee,” said Cleveland County Sheriff Alan Norman.
Norman has watched Chris Canipe, Sandy Canipe’s son, for the last five years and can tell the weight the man carries each day.
“I see this employee almost every day and see the weight in his face and eyes,” Norman said.
Sandy Canipe was last seen walking to his house around 5:30 p.m. the night he disappeared.