Waimea Weekly
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Wednesday 27 November 2024
McGlashen scholarship winner
Waimea dux follows dream Page 7
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Alfie’s grandeur celebration GORDON PREECE Dashing, just like his unwavering determination to blow the whistle on stereotypes. Māpua-based Alfie Linn was
sharply dressed for a grandeur event at Government House in Wellington on 14 November. He was honoured for his sports achievements and for being a role model for the Down Syndrome
and wider disabled community. Alfie received the New Zealand Down Syndrome Association (NZDSA) Achievement Award from Governor-General Dame Cindy Kiro and her husband Dr
Richard Davis. The 22-year-old says the occasion which he shared with his mother Jane, older brother Jacob and his supporter Sal Randall at the “lovely house” was “very excit-
ing” and he was both “Nelson and New Zealand proud”. Although he has Down Syndrome, low muscle tone, a heart
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Chalk characters make brief appearance ANNE HARDIE Tony Gillies has been putting smiles on faces in Richmond lately with his quirky chalk drawings on the pavements alongside positive messages. They popped up all around central Richmond and, though they didn’t last long, they left an impression on people, prompting about a thousand likes on Facebook and more than 100 comments. When he’s not chalking up another design on the pavement, he’s on the road with his partner in a purple house bus with unicorns painted on the side, which is more than a hint that there’s an artist inside. They have been on the road for seven years, travelling to festivals where he spins fire, but his first chalk drawings on pavements were in Richmond just eight months ago. Since then, he has decorated pavements in towns around the South Island.
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Tony Gillies has been brightening people’s days with his chalk drawings in Richmond. Photo: Anne Hardie.
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