Today's Features

Through reading some good fiction or studying history, going to school can sometimes lead the mind to some faraway places.

And with a little coaxing by your parents, sometimes the body gets to go, too.

Meet Nick Tournaud -- a 2007 Shelby County High School graduate and junior biology major at Bellarmine University, though you won’t find him in the school’s halls at the moment.

Information was gathered from previous years of The Shelby Sentinel, The Shelby News and The Sentinel-News. You can reach the writer at sharonw@sentinelnews.com.

Sure, Paula Sparrow’s book is filled with fascinating facts about chimpanzees, surprising specifics about kangaroos and pleasant pictures of pooches – and even portraits of pigs.

The women in the Ballard family are wild about horses, and they all have their tales to tell. The men are another story.

Matthew, 11, recalled an incident that didn't bolster his enthusiasm for riding.

"I had absolutely no experience and I was trying to drive the horse - I mean to stir it - and the horse went too far to one side going through the gate, and I fell off," he said. "I've kind of gotten a little more nervous around horses since that happened," he added.

Recalling the experience, his sister, McKenzie, 13, giggled.