Editorial blog: County’s boys ranch will be remembered for successes

A six-decade success story came to an end Wednesday when Sedgwick County commissioners voted to demolish the Judge Riddel Boys Ranch at Lake Afton.

The ranch opened in 1961 as a facility designed to help teens who had committed non-violent crimes. Boys ages 13-18 took classes and worked on the ranch as a way of getting them ready to get back into society and reduce recidivism.

The county-operated ranch ran into money problems about five years ago, when state funding stopped and county funds couldn’t sustain it. County commissioners expressed a range of frustrations about the lack of state funding since the county was running the ranch on behalf of the state.

The ranch closed in July 2014 and has been dormant. The county has shown the facility to potential buyers but couldn’t find a taker or someone willing to lease it. Included in that was a frustrating, “what the heck” period where 1960s federal funding for a bathroom might’ve held up how the ranch could be used. Wednesday’s vote will tear down the ranch — badly in need of repair — and return the 40 acres to Lake Afton Park.

It’s a disappointing final chapter. The program was one of a kind in Kansas, taking boys who were in the juvenile system and putting them in a ranch setting. A Wichita State University study said the ranch was reducing the amount of damages from repeat crimes by $1 million a year.

This story was originally published August 3, 2017 at 4:49 PM with the headline "Editorial blog: County’s boys ranch will be remembered for successes."