Home Care In Cotton Valley, LA

WEBSTER PARISH, La. (KSLA) - A nonprofit group spent the day Wednesday working to build a wheelchair ramp for one of the victims of the gas explosion in Cotton Valley that happened back in May.

Reagan Hardaway was one of the three men badly burned in that explosion. The other two are Chancey Hawk and Daniel Payne. Hawk died from his injuries on June 30. Numerous blood drives and fundraisers have been held since the explosion to help the three victims and their families.

Members of the group Men of Courage were out in Webster Parish on Wednesday, Oct. 5 building a wheelchair ramp at Hardaway’s home. He’s expected to be released from the hospital Friday.

“He needs access to his wheelchair, so we are building that ramp today,” said Chris Plant, one of the members.

Plant said part of their ministry is to lend a hand in the community.

“I’ve got unabashed Christian men working, not just talking about (it), they are doing it. And they also have brought money for the lumber stuff, and they are giving their days up.”

Phyliss Hardaway is Reagan’s mother.

“All over the parish have donated, they have had fundraisers for us, and it has been a tremendous help,” she said.

Phyllis Hardaway said it’s been a challenging journey.

“He was asleep for so long, they had him knocked out. And when he woke up and he couldn’t remember what happened or why he was there, and so that was a little bit of a struggle.”

But over time and patience a lot of progress.

“He’s walking with a lot of assistance, he’s walking with an upright walker,” she said.

It’s a blessing he’s alive, his mother said, and he is anxious about coming home.

“He has tremendous faith too and God has carried us through and is caring for him through and he has a long way to go,” she said.

Copyright 2022 KSLA. All rights reserved.

COTTON VALLEY, LA (KSLA) - Several residents in a Webster Parish town say their water was shut off, even after they claim they never got their water bill. Now, they've been ordered to pay a reconnect fee.

"I figured we just lost it and forgot to pay our bill," said John Maynor.

KSLA News 12 was first alerted about the fight over water fees Tuesday by a concerned viewer in Cotton Valley.

The bills in question were due on the Jan. 15, and town officials admit recent changes to their bill-mailing process has caused delays getting the bills delivered. So residents want to know why their water was still shut off, forcing them to pay a reconnect fee, despite the issues Cotton Valley has had?

"Somebody owes all these people a reconnect fee who got their water cut off, when it really wasn't their fault," said John Maynor, a Cotton Valley resident.

Maynor is one of dozens of Cotton Valley residents who claim they did not receive a water bill this month.

He said he did not even realize his bill hadn't been paid until his water was turned off. Then he realized he never even received a bill.

To turn it back on, he and other neighbors were forced to pay a $20 reconnect fee. According to Town Clerk Myra Kilburn, this has been a problem the past few months in Cotton Valley.

"Each month there had been an increasing number that had not been delivered. This month there was an entire water route that had not been delivered," said Kilburn.

Kilburn said she has proof that the water bills were mailed out. But even she did not receive a bill this month.

"We have no way of determining if you just forgot to pay your bill, didn't have the money to pay your bill, or if you didn't receive a bill," said Kilburn.

Kilburn said all of the residents should know when their bill is due.

"The bills are normally sent out on or about the first of the month," said Kilburn.

It is due the same day every month, on the 15th. If residents do not receive a bill, Kilburn says they should call town hall, but some feel they should not have to do that.

"When I get my water bill I stick it on the refrigerator so I'll see it and remember to pay it. When I don't get a bill, it never even crosses my mind. It's the only bill I get in the mail," said Maynor.

After digging deeper, we found out all water bills used to be post marked at the Cotton Valley Post Office, but that changed in October. To keep costs low, all mail is now sent to Shreveport to be post-marked on a machine and then sent back to Cotton Valley to be delivered.

October is when homeowners say the problems began.

"Whenever we had it in Cotton Valley we didn't have this problem, I think the smaller post office is more efficient," said Maynor.

The mayor of Cotton Valley, Comerdis Phillips, said she would speak with the city council by the end of the week about the possibility of refunding the $20 reconnect fee charged to residents who did not get a bill.

Cotton Valley is one of several municipalities in control of its water utilities; so are Shreveport and Bossier City.

Shreveport gives a notice to any delinquent customers, allowing them weeks to pay before they shut off the water. In Bossier City, a 5-day notice to pay is included with every water bill. If they bill is not paid, a customer's water is shut off.

And we are told a similar notice and action is taken for Cotton Valley customers.

McKinney Boyd, a Communications Programs Specialist with the US Postal Service issued this statement to KSLA:

"The Postal Service strives to provide the highest possible level of service to our customers. We apologize to our customers in Cotton Valley, LA for the recent issue involving receipt of their water bills. The Springhill, LA Postmaster, who oversees operations at the Cotton Valley Post Office, is taking immediate steps to research the issue and determine improvements for the future. Steps taken so far include meeting with Cotton Valley utility officials to provide information and guidance on how to ensure accurate addressing of these mailpieces. The Postmaster will continue to work with utility officials to ensure future mailings are postmarked and delivered both timely and accurately."

The town clerk and mayor's office say they are working with the postmaster to keep this problem from happening in the future. And, they urge residents to call them if they do not receive a bill before the due date.

Copyright 2016 KSLA. All rights reserved.

Singer-guitarist Brandon Ratcliff is revealing his soul and roots in his music breakout year.

Ratcliff, 24, is a singer-guitarist hailing from Cotton Valley—a small, rural town in northwest Louisiana.

He is the talent for three new singles, “Rules of Breaking Up,” “See Me Like This,” and “Slow Down Hometown.” The songs were produced by the Grammy Award-winning Shane McAnally.

“Rules of Breaking Up” has garnered more than 40 million streams and landed him on the Spotify Viral Chart in the United States and Canada.

In addition to the single releases, the songwriter is rolling out the songs from a standalone project called “Uncovered.” The “Uncovered” project is a series of cover songs that provide a glimpse at his musical foundation to show who he is as an artist and a few influences that have helped shape his sound.

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Ratcliff’s “Rhiannon,” originally sung by Fleetwood Mac, debuted in February. On April 10, the second of the three-part project will be released, Stevie Wonder’s “Living for the City.”

“I remember the first time I ever heard (Stevie Wonder’s) ‘The Definitive Collection’… My head never stopped moving for the whole record. I was grooving and head bobbing,” Ratcliff said. “I remember even at an early age when I was a kid, I loved music that feels like this. It’s easy to listen to, it feels infectious, it makes me want to move to it.”

“Forget About It” by Alison Krauss will be the final cover song Ratcliff will be released later.

Ratcliff grew up surrounded by great musical influences, including his mother and others from his ancestral tree, in Cotton Valley.

Ratcliff is the son of Suzanne Cox, the singer-mandolinist of the legendary bluegrass group The Cox Family. The Grammy Award-winning group’s credits include a host of hit songs, awards, regular tours and collaborations with Alison Krauss, and their song “I Am Weary” was featured on the soundtrack of “O Brother, Where Art Thou?”

Embarking as a solo artist from the established musical family wasn’t so much pressure as it was a guide for his personal music endeavors and to finding his voice.

“How do you compete with something you revere and respect? The answer to that is you do it in your own way so that it’s not comparable to them,” Ratcliff said. “It’s not them doing the bluegrass or gospel thing. My music is a world apart from theirs. It gets to live on its own.”

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Ratcliff refuses to abide by any set music style.

Traditional bluegrass, country, and gospel music have always been in his blood, Ratcliff said. He was raised listening to greats like Merle Haggard and Ricky Skaggs, but his mother exposed him to other genres that would mold him.

“All of that was always there, but she wanted me to have an appreciation for all music, everything from AC/DC to Led Zeppelin to Fleetwood Mac to Stevie Wonder,” Ratcliff said. “I feel like I got a real good music education, in general, spanning all genres. The ones that always really stuck out to me were the soulful things—the blues world, the R&B world.”

Ratcliff is drawn to taking the storytelling aspects of country music and to meld it to soul music while imparting other styles and influences to make an original sound—even when covering the greats.

In his original lineup, the singer-songwriter channeled those influences to address matters of the heart.

“See Me Like This” is a post-relationship anthem laced with attitude as Ratcliff asserts he’s going to have fun despite the breakup situation. Ratcliff grooves on the microphone and guitar to create a soulful heartache theme that he admits is fun to sing.

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“See Me Like This” was inspired by Stevie Wonder but with a “rapid-fire” reggae flow woven into the lyric’s delivery. The single is one of the singer’s favorites and he was eager to introduce it to new audiences.

“Out of everything from my debut record, it holds the most DNA of who I am as an artist—everything from the way that it sings to the phrases...all the way down to the guitar parts…All those things are the fabric of who I am,” Ratcliff said.

“Rules of Breaking Up” —sang with a country twang—is another single centered around the complexities of romantic relationships and the fallout that comes after.

“I wanted to have a theme piece or project and it was going to be the rule or ins and outs of a relationship,” Ratcliff said.

The lyrics delve into the evolution of a relationship and the taboo things that are and are not supposed to be done after a breakup, he said.

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“When I was writing this, I viewed this breakup song like a love song,” he said. “This is what I imagine going through having to break up with ‘the one’ or, for me, it’s my wife and thinking about us not being together. I don’t know if I could obey those rules.”

On his third single, Ratcliff addresses another kind of love—one for Cotton Valley—in “Slow Down, Hometown.”

“It’s probably the most personal song on the record because it was a love letter to my hometown,” he said.

Six years ago, Ratcliff moved to Nashville to develop and launch his music career. On visits back to the place of his adolescence, he couldn’t help but notice the changes.

“I wrote this after being away from my hometown for some time and going back and seeing how much it had evolved and changed and gone on without me,” he said. “I wrote this pleading with it, ‘Hey, you’ve got to move on and I know I’m not here anymore and there are new kids coming up here, but just slow down for me on the moving on process. At least be a remnant of who you were when we were together.’”

If you follow

Who: Brandon Ratcliff

Info: Follow the artist at brandonratcliff.com or facebook.com/brandonratcliffmusic/.

Listen on Spotify, Amazon Music, Pandora, Apple Music, YouTube, and other streaming music platforms. Hear the “Uncovered” tracks at https://smarturl.it/BRuncovered.

COTTON VALLEY, La. (KSLA) - A body of a man was found inside an incinerated home.

At 4 a.m. on Sept 16. Louisiana State Fire Marshal (LSFM) responded to a fire reported on the 200 block of Sykes Ferry Road in Cotton Valley, Louisiana.

LSFM reports that a body of a man believed to be the 44-year-old homeowner, was found inside after the fire was under control.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Copyright 2022 KSLA. All rights reserved.

4:03 PM PT -- A rep for White tells us the NFL player WILL be encouraging COVID safety during the event.

We're told event organizers will be encouraging social distancing and for people to wear masks and wash their hands.

We're told the event -- which includes a 6 mile trail ride -- will raise money for local charities.

NFL star Devin White is throwing a massive charity event for around 2,000 people in a small Louisiana town this weekend ... and the mayor there says he expects NO COVID-19 precautions to be taken.

White -- the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' 2019 1st-round pick -- is set to hold his 2nd annual "Trail Ride" at his "Get Live Stables" in Cotton Valley, La. on Saturday.

The turnout is expected to be HUGE ... the mayor of Cotton Valley, C.C. Cox, tells TMZ Sports he believes roughly 2,000 people -- and maybe even more -- will show up to the 20-acre property for the get-together.

But, Cox says he's not anticipating it to be a coronavirus-concerned crowd ... saying, to his knowledge, mask-wearing and social distancing will NOT be enforced at the event.

"He was raised here," Cox said of the 22-year-old former LSU linebacker. "He wants to come into town and he wants to throw a big party."

Despite COVID-19 cases surging in Louisiana, Cox tells us he never tried to stop White from hosting the event ... and added, "That's what he wants to do, he can do it, you know?"

Cox says there WILL be Louisiana State Troopers assisting on the highways near the party as well as officers from the Webster Parish Sheriff's Office ... although he says they will NOT be there to enforce social distancing guidelines.

"You just got to accept it," Cox said. "I'm ready for it."

White held the first annual "Trail Ride" at his Cotton Valley property back in July 2019 ... and you can see in video of that event -- it's a pretty massive bash.