THE UNIVERSITY OF DAILY KANSAN
FRIDAY, APRIL 27, 2007
NEWS
5A
ACADEMIA
World's oldest college student ready to graduate at 95
BY CARL MANNING ASSOCIATED PRESS
HAYS — Sitting on the front row in her college classes carefully taking notes, Nola Ochs is more likely to answer questions than ask them.
That's not the only thing distinguishing her from fellow students at Fort Hays State University. She's 95, and when she graduates May 12, she'll be the world's oldest college graduate.
She didn't plan it that way. She just loved to learn as a teenager on a Hodgeman County farm - and as a teacher at a one-room school on the plains after graduating from high school, then as a farm wife and mother.
"That yearning for study was still there. I came here with no thought of it being an unusual thing at all," she said. "It was something I wanted to do. It gave me a feeling of satisfaction. I like to study and learn."
The record Ochs will break, according to Guinness World Records, belongs to Mozelle Richardson, who at age 90 in 2004 received a journalism degree from the University of Oklahoma.
"We should all be so lucky and do such amazing things. Her achievement challenges us all to reach for our own goals and dreams," said Tom Nelson, AARP chief operating officer in Washington.
She's getting offers for television appearances, and reporters show up wanting to interview her. She acknowledges enjoying it.
"It brings attention to this college and this part of the state. Good people live here," she said. "And I still wear the same size hat."
But she added: "I don't dwell on my age. It might limit what I can do. As long as I have my mind and health, it's just a number."
On Thursday, the Kansas Legislature honored Ochs, with the House and Senate praising her efforts and giving her standing ovations.
Ochs is proudest of being the matriarch of a family that includes three sons — a fourth died in 1995
— along with 13 grandchildren and 15 great grandchildren.
"They're all such fine boys," she said. "Our main crop is our children, and the farm is a good place to raise them."
Ochs started taking classes at
Dodge City Community College after her husband of 39 years, Vernon, died in 1972. A class here and there over the years, and she was close to having enough hours for an undergraduate degree.
Last fall, Ochs moved the 100 miles from her farm southwest of Jetmote to an apartment on campus to complete the final 30 hours to get a general studies degree with an emphasis on history.
At 5-foot-2, her white hair pulled into a bun, she walks purposely down hallways to classes with her books in a cloth tote bag. Students nod and smile; she's described as witty, charming and down to earth.
"Everybody has accepted me, and I feel just like another student" she said. "The students respect me."
Coming out of a classroom, Skyla Foster, a junior majoring in history, sees Ochs and calls out to her. To everyone on campus, she's "Nola," not Mrs. Ochs — and that's the way she wants it.
"She is pretty neat, a very interesting person and very knowledgeable," Foster said.
Nola Ochs, front, adds to a discussion during a current political issues class at Fort Hays State University on Monday in Hays. At age 95, Ochs will become the world's oldest college graduate when she graduates May 12.
Charlie Riedel/ASSOCIATED PRES
Pet food manufacturer sues provider for contamination
BY JOHN HANNA
ASSOCIATED PRESS
TOPEKA - A pet food manufacturer that recalled 60 million cans of its products last month has sued another company, alleging that an ingredient the second firm supplied was contaminated.
Menu Foods Midwest Corp., based in Emporia, is seeking damages "substantially in excess of $75,000" and wants to force ChemNutra Inc., of Las Vegas, to pay costs associated with the recall of dog and cat food.
Wheat gluten sold to Menu Foods by ChemNutra contained melamine, a chemical found in plastics and pesticides and not approved for use in U.S. pet food by the Food and Drug Administration, according to the lawsuit.
Menu Foods filed its lawsuit Monday in Lyon County District Court, based in Emporia, about 50 miles south of Topeka.
"ChemNutra represented itself to Menu Foods and the North American food market as a business that imports high-quality nutritional and pharmaceutical ingredients
from China to the United States,"the lawsuit said.
Menu Foods recalled its products after 16 pets, mostly cats, died from eating contaminated food. Other manufacturers also recalled animal food; Menu Foods said it now faces more than 50 lawsuits.
But ChemNutra said a Chinese supplier is responsible for its shipments of contaminated wheat gluten. In a statement posted on the company's Web site, chief executive officer Steve Miller said a Chinese company was recommended to ChemNutra by a "reliable source" and provided
apparent proof that its wheat gluten was safe.
"We are concerned that we may have been the victim of deliberate and mercenary contamination," Miller said in the statement.
An attorney for Menu Foods in Kansas City, Mo., was not available and did not immediately return a message left at his office. A spokesman for ChemNutra said he was reviewing the lawsuit and planned to respond later Thursday.
ChemNutra is the only defendant in the lawsuit. Suing it were Menu Foods Midwest Corp., and three
other affiliated firms, Menu Foods Limited, Menu Foods Holdings Inc. and Menu Foods Inc.
The lawsuit said most of the wheat gluten from ChemNutra went to a Menu Foods plant in Emporia. Wheat gluten is a vegetable protein, and Menu Foods used it in "cuts and gravy" pet foods.
The lawsuit accuses ChemNutra of breach of contract and breach of implied warranties about the safety of the wheat gluten and its fitness for use in pet food. It said each shipment of wheat gluten came with a certificate saying it met Menu Foods'
requirements.
"ChemNutra knew that Menu Foods was relying on ChemNutra's skill and judgment to supply high-quality wheat gluten," the lawsuit said.
In his statement, Miller said ChemNutra didn't know melamine was an issue in its wheat gluten until notified by the FDA, two weeks after Menu Foods initiated its first recall.
"In fact, we had never heard of melamine before," he said. "It's simply not a chemical on the radar screen for food ingredient suppliers."