Parents who are upset about the Board of Education's 5-4 vote to approve a new middle school feeder plan last week aren't going away, despite Board of Education Vice Chairman Pam Iacono's statements that she's not aware of any board member who voted for the plan and who wants to reconsider the vote.

The parents have organized a rally at the Sherman Green Gazebo from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. Friday to "voice/show our concerns about the BOE's recent decision on redistricting," according to an e-mail sent to Fairfield Patch by one of the opponents of "Option E."

Word of the rally follows the opponents' plan to present a position paper to the Board of Education on Wednesday, asking that the board put the middle school feeder plan back on its agenda. Barring that, the parents plan to employ a state statute that requires Boards of Education in Connecticut to hold a public hearing on an issue if 1 percent of voters in a municipality submit a petition requesting the hearing. Only 355 voters would have to sign the petition, and the parents already have about 400 signatures on an online petition asking for the board to reconsider its decision (though some signatures are anonymous and duplicates.)

Residents say redistricting is always a tough process, and the board's decision to approve "Option E" as the new middle school feeder plan isn't doing anything to disprove that. We have to wonder what's in store when the board attempts to redistrict at the elementary school level by redrawing attendance zones for elementary school students later this year.

The weather may be getting cooler, but it's looking to be a hot fall and winter for the Board of Education. (Andy Brophy)

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Fairfielders expressed mixed emotions to About Town on the sentencing of former U.S. Rep. Christopher Shays staffer Michael Sohn.

Nearly two years after the FBI began its extensive probe on Sohn, he was formally sentenced Tuesday to 37 months in prison after pleading guilty to embezzling campaign contributions over a four-year period. Sohn, 36, a Fairfield University graduate, was Shays' longtime campaign manager and by all accounts considered part of the Shays family. According to news reports, Sohn apologized at his sentencing Tuesday. He is free on bond until he begins serving time at a federal prison camp in November.

Brenda Kupchick, a former confidante of Sohn's and fellow ex-Shays staffer, disclosed that a former Shays colleague presented a letter to U.S. District Judge Mark R. Kravitz on Tuesday, but declined to provide details, saying it was "too personal." Kupchick is hoping to unseat State Rep. Tom Drew in Connecticut's 132nd District this November.

Jamie Millington, majority leader of the Fairfield Representative Town Meeting, and longtime friend of Sohn's, said he was sad about Tuesday's outcome.

"I am relieved that there is finally closure for everyone involved in this tragic chain of events," he told About Town. "I have known Michael since we were little kids growing up in Fairfield. Michael earned widespread notoriety on a national level within Republican circles for his work as a political strategist, campaign manager, leader and as a skilled manager and motivator of people. Michael was a rising star on the main stage of the Republican Party and I am deeply saddened that it all ended like this."

Sohn is married to Aimee Renaud, also a former Shays staffer. The couple retreated for a belated honeymoon in the Asia-Pacific in December 2008, when the FBI investigation commenced. Their house at 150 Henderson Road, which is in Renaud's name, was initially listed at $529,000 in March 2010 and has been on the market for 198 days; the home was recently reduced to $510,000. According to About Town sources, the home has undergone "extensive" renovations. It was purchased Oct. 9, 2008 for $490,000.