Month: September 2015

Arkansas man pleads guilty to series of armed robberies

KCK store one of a dozen robbed

An Arkansas man pleaded guilty in federal court today in Jefferson City, Mo., to a string of armed robberies in five states.

The man also admitted to robbing a retail store in Kansas City, Kan., the former Payless ShoeSource at 7714 State Ave., on July 26, 2013, according to federal authorities.

Timothy Patrick Hoyt, 45, Bella Vista, Ark., pleaded guilty to a series of a dozen armed robberies at a Missouri bank and 11 other businesses across five states in 2013, according to Tammy Dickinson, U.S. attorney for the Western District of Missouri.

By pleading guilty today, Hoyt admitted that he used what appeared to be a handgun (but which later was identified as a .177-caliber pellet or BB gun) to rob a bank in Missouri and 10 other businesses, including eight fast food restaurants, across five states between June 26 and Aug. 6, 2013.

Hoyt pleaded guilty to all four counts of the indictment filed in the Western District of Missouri. Hoyt stole $5,123 from Alliant Bank, 118 Main St., Blackwater, Mo., on June 26, 2013, with what appeared to be a handgun. Hoyt also used what appeared to be a handgun to rob the Subway restaurant at 330 N. Massey Blvd., Nixa, Mo., on July 12, 2013; the Subway restaurant at 1820 W. 32nd St., Joplin, Mo., on July 14, 2013; and the Sally Beauty Supply Store at 2007-C W. Foxwood Dr., Raymore, Mo., on Aug. 6, 2013.

Hoyt also pleaded guilty to using what appeared to be a handgun to rob the Subway restaurant at 715 N. G Street, Wellington, Kan., on July 17, 2013; the Domino’s Pizza Restaurant at 1108 S. Minnesota Ave., Sioux Falls, S. D., on July 19, 2013; the Subway restaurant at 1116 E. 10th St., Sioux Falls on July 20, 2013; the Godfather’s Pizza restaurant at 15234 W. Maple Rd., Omaha, Neb., on July 23, 2013; and the Arby’s restaurant at 6919 S. Lewis Ave., Tulsa, Okla., on July 27, 2013.

In addition to those robberies with which Hoyt has been charged, he also admitted that he used what appeared to be a handgun to rob the Papa Murphy’s Pizza restaurant at 302 W. 28th St., Sioux City, Iowa, on July 21, 2013; the Payless ShoeSource store at 7714 State Ave., Kansas City, Kan., on July 26, 2013; and the Papa Murphy’s Pizza restaurant at 3418 8th St. S.W., Altoona, Iowa, on Aug. 7, 2013.

Hoyt was arrested after robbing the Papa Murphy’s Pizza restaurant in Altoona. According to today’s plea agreement, he told law enforcement officers that he shoplifted the pellet gun from a Walmart store near Blackwater before using it to rob Alliant Bank.

DCF says federal grant changes won’t affect state welfare policies

by Dave Ranney, KHI News Service

Officials with the Kansas Department for Children and Families on Tuesday downplayed the likelihood that new federal regulations mean the state will need to alter its approach to licensing child care facilities and helping low-income families find affordable child care.

“We do not believe there’s a conflict, and the feds have not said anything to indicate that they think there is one either,” said Sandra Kimmons, director of economic and employment services for DCF.

Kimmons and Theresa Freed, the department’s director of communications, disputed child care advocates’ concerns that DCF policies are on a collision course with several reform provisions in the federal government’s Child Care and Development Block Grant program.

The grant funds almost $79 million in Kansas programs annually, including $16 million in state funds, $42.2 million in direct federal funds and $20.4 million in funds transferred from the state’s Temporary Assistance for Needy Families allotment, which also comes from the federal government.

Last week the nonprofit group Kansas Action for Children held an informational forum on the reforms, which national experts said are meant to improve quality and ensure low-income families access to services.

According to the experts, states need to be looking for ways to cover the costs complying with the new federal regulations, which call for tightening background checks for child care providers, exposing providers to additional on-site inspections and enacting polices to ensure low-income families have access to child care subsidies.

State reform plans are due March 1, 2016. The reforms are expected to take effect in September 2016.

No one from DCF or from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment attended last week’s KAC-sponsored session. Instead, DCF invited stakeholders to Tuesday’s meeting of the KDHE-led Child Care Licensing Systems Improvement Team.

During the meeting, Karen Beckerman, director of family strengthening services at DCF, assured the advocates in the room that they would be invited to participate in monthly work group meetings that will help DCF and KDHE assemble the state plan. The draft plans, she said, should be available for review in January.

Shannon Cotsoradis, president and CEO of Kansas Action for Children, said much of Tuesday’s meeting was a rehashing of what she and other advocates already knew.

“The good news is that this provided stakeholders with an opportunity to ask questions, of which there were many,” Cotsoradis said. “That was an important conversation to have.”

Cotsoradis disputed assurances from Freed and Kimmons that DCF won’t have to alter its policies. Among other things, she said, the reforms require states to help low-income families pay for child care for at least a year after they’re declared eligible for a subsidy, but DCF policies allow the department to drop families it considers to be uncooperative with state regulations.

The state policies that potentially conflict with the new federal regulations, Cotsoradis said, are spelled out in the HOPE Act, a welfare reform law the Legislature passed earlier this year. DCF has delayed implementation of several parts of the law —including limits on family assistance — for six months.

“The reason we’re raising the red flag is that typically these are things that would be contained in administrative policy that could be quickly changed,” she said. “But when the Legislature chose to put all of that in statute, they made it far less nimble. So if there are conflicts, which we may not find out about until early next year, we’ll have very little time to change it.”

The nonprofit KHI News Service is an editorially independent initiative of the Kansas Health Institute and a partner in the Heartland Health Monitor reporting collaboration. All stories and photos may be republished at no cost with proper attribution and a link back to KHI.org when a story is reposted online.

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Hollywood Casino revenues down for August

Hollywood Casino at Kansas Speedway gaming revenues declined in August, as compared to July.

July gaming revenues there were $12,484,724 as compared to the August revenues of $11,642,755, according to figures announced by the Kansas Lottery Commission today.

August revenues for two other state casinos were Boot Hill in Dodge City, $3,457,087, and Kansas Star Casino, Mulvane, $14,765,506. Those revenues also were down since July, when Boot Hill reported $3,399,892, and Kansas Star, $15,759,223.

In a written report to the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission, Rick Skinner, vice president and general manager of the Hollywood Casino, stated that admissions during the month of August were down 6.7 percent as compared to the previous year.

The total gaming revenue for August at Hollywood Casino was a decrease of 1.6 percent compared to the previous August, according to the report. Slots revenue increased 1.9 percent, while table games revenue decreased 23.9 percent compared to the prior year. He attributed the decline to a low hold percentage for the month.

Special events in August included a slot tournament with a prize of a Las Vegas trip. Two more slot tournaments are planned Sept. 12 and Sept. 26 at Hollywood Casino.

The casino also held a Sporting KC watch party and a KC Chiefs watch party recently.

It is planning a promotion for NASCAR weekend at the Kansas Speedway in October. A car that the casino purchased from Clint Bowyer’s dealership in Emporia, Kan., will be given away on Oct. 17, according to the report.