From the Lawrence Daily Journal-World for Sept. 25, 1975:

The Lawrence-Douglas County Planning Commission this week approved a conditional use permit for a youth ranch southwest of Lawrence. The International Youth for Christ organization had made its pitch to the commission for permission to operate a home for boys. Planning commissioners had approved a similar request from The Villages earlier in the year, but opposition from neighbors near the proposed site had killed the item when it had come before the Douglas County Commission. Area residents said there was some opposition to the O’Connell Youth Ranch proposal, sponsored by the Youth for Christ organization, but that the resistance was apparently not as strong as it had been in the case of The Villages. The ranch was to serve as a rehabilitation center for up to 20 boys, in two facilities on the 140-acre tract donated by Mrs. Elsie O’Connell.