Montgomery County special education teacher charged with drug possession

A Montgomery County elementary school teacher was charged with possession of heroin after a traffic stop this week in Silver Spring, county officials said Thursday. Rebecca L. Amick, 25, who teaches special education at Woodlin Elementary School, has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the case, said Lesli Maxwell, a spokeswoman for Montgomery public schools. Amick has been released from custody, according to court records. Amick could not be reached for comment. It is unclear whether she has retained a lawyer.

According to police accounts, Amick was one of three people in a 2002 Mercury Marquis traveling north on Georgia Avenue on Tuesday evening. A member of the Montgomery Police Community Action Team paced the Marquis going 40 mph in a 30 mph zone and pulled it over, said Lucille Baur, a police spokeswoman. The occupants gave the officer permission to search the car and to search them, Baur said. Amick had been sitting in a rear seat. Police found nine small plastic bags on her person, Baur said. Police said that an officer on the scene trained to recognize specific drugs determined their contents to be heroin but that the substance has yet to be tested in a forensics lab. SOURCE: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/30/AR2010123004479.html>Washington Post

Suburban Hospital on lockdown following stabbing/death

Suburban Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland, where I am being treated for Stage-4 cancer is now on lockdown! I have heard that a person was stabbed and died. My guess is that the stabbing came from a person who was brought into the hospital late morning for trauma injuries, though that is just a hunch. Vovak is in the hospital for cancer treatment, which has been quite serious. Stay tuned for more Montgomery County news! Also, all my visitors were sent away and later crew did a walk-through to make sure minimal people were in the hospital. . . . . Maybe I can finally get some sleep, since there will be less interruptions! On the other hand, I will be devastated if I know the stabbing victim, since many float from floor to floor and I have developed some deep friendships in the past 2-1/2 weeks! The stabbing was not on my floor, though.

Daniel Vovak's public statement on his Stage IV cancer

UPDATED: December 29, 2010; December 26, 2010

Dear friends, Republicans, and Marylanders:

For the last two weeks, I have had the rare privilege to be overwhelmingly loved by family and friends and to receive perfect care from the staff at Johns Hopkins/Suburban Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland. Shortly before Thanksgiving and through the weekend of the Maryland Republican Convention earlier this month, I experienced increased abdominal pain. I have since learned that I have an aggressive, but yet-to-be-specifically-diagnosed, Stage IV cancer.

Thankfully, my family and Alison have remained at my side, even as my dog, Newton, anxiously awaits my return. I anticipate not returning home for at least a month, though still before the 450 daffodils I planted (just three weeks ago) bloom in the spring. In the meanwhile, I ask that you pray for me and be more open with your loved ones, since I have learned there is no advantage to delaying kind words.

At this time (to preserve my strength), I request no phone calls, flowers, or visitors. Correspondence should be directed to Daniel Vovak through email at DanielVovak@gmail.com or to Daniel Vovak, Suburban Hospital. 8600 Old Georgetown Road. Room 3104. Bethesda, Maryland 20814. I will respond to correspondence when I am able, or as there are developments. May God bless us all!

Daniel Vovak, 38, is a ghostwriter, producer of The Blue Dress (a comedy about Bill & Monica), and an elected, at-large member of the Montgomery County Republican Central Committee. He is also the editor of Montgomery County Daily, a blog about Montgomery County, Maryland.