Week in Review: Council Drops Smoking Ban; Bridge Jumping Now Illegal and More

Too busy last week to stay up to date on all the news happening in St. Charles? Not to worry. Patch has your back.

In case you missed them, here were some of the top headlines from the St. Charles Patch from the last few days.

• Seventeen people traveling in Georgia with the First Baptist Church of St. Charles were injured in a bus accident. All 17 of those injured were taken to area hospitals near Chatsworth, GA and treated, according to a blog by First Baptist pastor Buddy Perstrope.

• A problem with teenagers jumping off bridges in New Town has led to a new ordinance that makes bridge-jumping illegal in the City of St. Charles. Unusually heavy rainfall this spring and early summer raised the water level in New Town's canals and lakes, making the practice even more dangerous. 

• A man pulled out a knife and struggled with a a St. Charles resident in front of a St. Charles home, police said. Ethan V. Schafer, 20, of the 2900 block of Scarsdale Manor Drive in St. Charles, was charged Monday with second-degree assault and unlawful use of a weapon.

• After holding three town hall meetings to get residents' input about a proposed smoking ban in the City of St. Charles, the city council has given up on the idea. At the July 9 council work session, Board President Dave Beckering reported the results of the meetings: Out of 102 responses, 51 people were opposed to any kind of a ban; 44 were in support of a total ban; two supported a ban with exemptions; and five weren't clear which side they took.