Centenarian has seen 100 years of Uptown life

Sedonia M. Duffel, an Uptown native and long-time resident, will turn 100 on Tuesday (June 15). She has lived Uptown for most of her life, beginning in a shotgun double on Louisiana Avenue and eventually in her current home on Austerlitz Street that she and her late husband, Whelmon Duffel, purchased more than 50 years ago. The centenarian is the mother of eight, grandmother of 13 and great-grandmother of 17. Her grandchildren hosted a celebration in her honor on Sunday with limited family, friends and neighbors. One of 14 children, Duffel overcame a serious case of dropsy (edema) as a child but was still able to help raise at least seven of her siblings.

Police blotter: Carjacking, shooting, stabbing, armed robbery

A carjacking, stabbing, shooting and armed robbery were reported in Uptown neighborhoods during the past week. The carjacking occurred Thursday (June 10) in the 4400 block of Washington Avenue. The victim, a 28-year-old man, had started his vehicle at about 11:30 p.m. and decided to run back into his residence. As he was getting out of the car, a man walked up and pushed him to the ground, according to a report from the New Orleans Police Department. The assailant grabbed the victim’s keys and drove off in his white 2014 Hyundai Elantra with Louisiana license plate 338 ENK.

Roadwork update: Audubon, Black Pearl, Broadmoor, East Carrollton, Central City, East Riverside, Garden District, Irish Channel, Freret, Hollygrove, Fountainebleau

From the Mayor’s Office

The Mayor’s Office announced in its monthly roadwork update that 60 roadwork projects are currently underway around the city, totaling over $600 million. They said that the city hopes to demonstrate accountability and effectiveness in its current infrastructure projects in order to help secure more federal infrastructure funding in the future. The mayor’s message also said that, with hurricane season underway, the city is working with contractors to make sure they are prepared to secure construction sites in the event of serious tropical weather. Roadwork NOLA released updates on the following projects in Uptown:  Broadmoor Group A, Marlyville-Fountainebleau Group C, Octavia Street, East Riverside/Garden District/Irish Channel/St. Thomas, Black Pearl/East Carrollton, Black Pearl Group B, State Street, and Hollygrove-Leonidas.

NORD senior activity center opens in former Boys & Girls Club

The New Orleans Recreational Development Commission has opened a senior activity center next to the Rosenwald Recreation Center on South Broad Street. Available to seniors throughout the year, the Rosenwald Annex fills a gap in services, NORD CEO Larry Barabino Jr. noted during a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the end of May. “‘Something for everyone’ is NORD’s hashtag, our motto,” he said. “But in summer months, our morning senior programs would halt because we take in all of our kids during summer programs. One thing I told our mayor when I first came on is that we need to have something for our seniors year-round.” The 8,500-square-foot Rosenwald Annex at 1140 S. Broad St.

Kingsley House changing its name in light of revelations about Charles Kingsley’s racist views

 

Kingsley House board members, senior leadership, elected officials and staff announced that the name of the 125-year-old nonprofit will be changed. The decision came after racist ideologies of Charles Kingsley, a Victorian-era British clergyman, author and social reformer, were discovered.

The nonprofit is a social and human multi-service organization with a focus ranging from toddlers to seniors, Kingsley House officials say. Its main campus is in the Lower Garden District.