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COPyright 2009, SOuthErN CONNECtiCut NEWSPAPErS iNC.

VOL. LXXII NO. 217 4 SECTIONS

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Is it a beginning or an end-ing?

This week marks the true start of the political season,

when the town parties name their official slates for the fall elections.

That much we know.But will this start, as it per-

tains to the Greenwich Board of Education, be a beginning or an ending?

That much we don’t know.This is a call for the nominat-

ing conventions to do the right

thing, give voters a choice and make a stand for democracy.

Here is some more of what we know: Four seats are up for grabs on the school board this year; two can be claimed by Republi-cans, two by Democrats. The executive committees of each party have endorsed only two candidates — same as they do most years — although more have expressed interest in the job.

In other words, the executive committees have said, “Let’s end

the Board of Education elections right now.” Two seats open, put up two candidates, outcome guaranteed. Electorate be damned.

Makes you wonder whether the party leaders are really about democracy, or just power.

But here’s the thing: The full Republican and Democratic town committees don’t have to listen to their executive committees. They

usually do, but they don’t have to. They can nominate more candidates than just two. They can nominate different candi-dates if they want.

What will they do? Don’t know. But we will find out when the Republicans hold their convention on Wednesday, and the Democrats hold theirs a week from Tuesday.

A total of eight Greenwich residents have come forward this year to say they want to be on the school board. On our editorial

pages today (A8, 9) you will find essays from most of them (one decided not to contribute).

Read them all. You might find, like we did, that these glimpses are not enough to determine who should be on the board. But do they make the case that this year’s Board of Education elec-tions should actually be contests?

Where all voters, not just a tiny segment, have a say in the outcome? We think so.

A beginning or an ending? We’ll soon find out.

In a democracy, voters get to voteEditorial

ALBiE yurAviCh/StAff PAgE dESigN

July 20, 1969 July 20, 2009lunar landing: 40 years later

MennM

NASA viA AP

Astronaut Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., lunar module pilot, is photographed walking near the lunar module during the Apollo 11 extravehicular activity July 20, 1969. Below left, Aldrin descends the module’s ladder steps before the moon walk.

Town residents on front lines of history

By Colin Gustafson Staff writer

Jim Lash Helped develop apollo command module, primary booster rockets.

RichaRd BeRg-stResseR worked on computer system that helped NaSa conduct orbital calculations.

emeRsOn stOne Orchestrated CBS’s radio coverage of launch, landing and flight home.

Forty years ago to-morrow, Greenwich residents joined the millions of Ameri-

cans tuning in to watch an epochal moment unfold live on television: The first land-ing of a human being on the moon.

On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong descended a lad-der to the moon’s surface with Buzz Aldrin and, after leaving the first human foot-prints in history in the lunar dust, uttered those famous words: “That’s one small step for a man; one giant leap for mankind.”

While many in town saw the iconic event on their TV screens, a lucky few who call Greenwich home today say they had the privilege of being on the front lines dur-ing the Apollo mission — as journalists, NASA engi-neers and scientists.

Today they, too, are re-calling the exhilaration of witnessing two American astronauts become the first to touch down on the moon’s “Sea of Tranquility,” mark-ing the culmination of America’s space race with the Soviet Union.

MORE INSIDEn State companies’ technological contributions to the moon mission. A5

n Area resident tells of work with rCA, which developed moon camera. A4

n Other moon tidbits. A5

neil armstrong is remembered as the first man to walk on the moon.

Who was the last?

While armstrong and edwin “Buzz” aldrin walked on the moon, who

stayed behind in the command module?

What was the site of the first moon landing?

armstrong’s “One small step …” quote is well-known, but what did

he say when the lunar module landed on the moon?

What time did armstrong step onto the moon’s surface, and how long

did he and aldrin spend on their walk?

how many men have walked on the moon, and who were they?

One of those men has another claim to fame. can you name him

and the historic event he took part in?

in a speech to congress on may 29, 1961, President John F.

Kennedy set the goal of landing a man on the moon before the end of the decade. Who was the president when that goal was met?

lunacy: how well do you know the Moon Missions?

ansWeRs On Page a5

Please see MOON on A5

Payroll tax allegedly used to cover fraud

By Neil VigdorStaff writer

Payroll taxes owed to the Internal Revenue Service by unsuspecting election work-ers for Christopher Shays were allegedly siphoned off by the architect of the Repub-lican’s failed re-election bid in an attempt to cover up money he was stealing from the cam-paign, according to an exclu-sive interview with the for-mer congressman.

Shays revealed details about the elaborate shell game in an interview Friday, when he was asked by Green-wich Time about a $22,000 loan he made to his campaign on Dec. 23, 2008, a month and a half after he was defeated by Greenwich Democrat Jim Himes.

The loan, which was re-ported to Federal Election Commission and came from Shays’ personal savings ac-count, helped the campaign foot the bill for nearly $28,000 in unpaid payroll taxes that were part of a larger fraud, he said.

“During the course of our investigation, we learned that the campaign owed the IRS withholding tax by end of the year,” Shays said. “This oc-curred because our campaign manager did not put some of our employees under our pay-roll system, which automati-cally deducts for withhold-ings.”

Michael Sohn, who was Shays’ campaign manager for the past four elections dating back to 2002, is accused of making unauthorized ATM withdrawals and spending the money on lavish items such as Red Sox tickets, a hotel in Times Square, limousines and purchases at Best Buy.

“At the end of the election cycle, we had a deficit of $150,000 caused by the embez-zlement of over $180,000,” Shays said.

Philip Russell, the Green-wich lawyer for Sohn, de-clined to comment about the claim that his client used money owed to the IRS to cover his tracks.

No criminal charges have been filed against Sohn, who is the subject of a lengthy fed-

Shays reveals more details of alleged campaign embezzlement

Please see PAYROLL on A11