Mariane Pearl to Speak at MCLA

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Mariane Pearl
NORTH ADAMS - Mariane Pearl, wife of slain journalist and former North Adams Transcript reporter Daniel Pearl, will appear at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts on Wednesday, March 5, at 7:30 p.m.

Part of the Hardman Lecture Series, her talk, "A Mighty Heart: The Brave Life and Death of My Husband Danny Pearl," will take place in the Church Street Center. The event is free and open to the public.

A freelance journalist, Mariane Pearl writes a column, "Global Diary," for Glamour magazine that spotlights women activists around the world. The columns have been collected into a book, "In Search of Hope."

Pearl was thrust into the spotlight in 2002 when her husband, a bureau chief for The Wall Street Journal, was kidnapped and murdered by Islamic extremists in Pakistan in early 2002.

Born Mariane Van Neyenhoff in Clinchy, Haute-de-Seine, France, Pearl was raised in Paris. She met her husband while he was on assignment there. They married in August 1999, and moved to Mumbai, India, where Daniel was the South Asia bureau chief for The Journal.

The couple later traveled to Karachi, Pakistan, to cover aspects of the war on terrorism. It was in Karachi that Daniel was kidnapped and later killed. Mariane was pregnant at the time, and their son, Adam Daniel, was born in Paris three months later.

Pearl's memoir, "A Mighty Heart," which deals with the events surrounding her husband's kidnapping and assassination, was adapted for a film of the same name starring Angelina Jolie, with whom she'd become a close friend, as herself and Dan Futterman as her husband. The film was released last spring.

She is a practicing Nichiren Buddhist and a member of Soka Gakkai International, a Buddhist association that promotes world peace and individual happiness.

Daniel Pearl began his career in journalism at the Transcript and later at The Berkshire Eagle before joining The Wall Street Journal.

The Hardman Lecture Series is made possible through the generosity of the Hardman Family Endowment.
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McCann Recognizes Superintendent Award Recipient

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff

Landon LeClair and Superintendent James Brosnan with Landon's parents Eric and Susan LeClair, who is a teacher at McCann. 
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Superintendent's Award has been presented to Landon LeClair, a senior in McCann Technical School's advanced manufacturing course. 
 
The presentation was made last Thursday by Superintendent Jame Brosnan after Principal Justin Kratz read from teachers' letters extolling LeClair's school work, leadership and dedication. 
 
"He's become somewhat legendary at the Fall State Leadership Conference for trying to be a leader at his dinner table, getting an entire plate of cookies for him and all his friends," read Kratz to chuckles from the School Committee. "Landon was always a dedicated student and a quiet leader who cared about mastering the content."
 
LeClair was also recognized for his participation on the school's golf team and for mentoring younger teammates. 
 
"Landon jumped in tutoring the student so thoroughly that the freshman was able to demonstrate proficiency on an assessment despite the missed class time for golf matches," read Kratz.
 
The principal noted that the school also received feedback from LeClair's co-op employer, who rated him with all fours.
 
"This week, we sent Landon to our other machine shop to help load and run parts in the CNC mill," his employer wrote to the school. LeClair was so competent the supervisor advised the central shop might not get him back. 
 
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