Week in Review: St. Charles Council Consider Smoking Ban, School Lunch Prices on the Rise 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.

St. Charles School Board Votes to Raise Lunch Prices

• The St. Charles City School Board met Thursday night and after new member Marita Malone was sworn in and new officers were elected, the board, led by its new president Dale Hallemeier, approved a list of summer maintenance projects and a price increase for school meals for 2013-2014. Representatives from Chartwell's, the district's meal program vendor, offered a presentation to the board that included changes necessitated by the 2010 Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act.

St. Charles City Council Green Lights Meth Clean-Up Bill

• Members of the St. Charles City Council decided unanimously to sponsor a bill setting regulations for the testing, decontamination and re-occupying of structures in the city have have been used for the manufacturing of methanphetamine. Community Development Director Bruce Evans spoke to the board first about the issue.  "The manufacturing of meth is a problem in our society. I would need to ask the Chief to verify, but we've had four or five meth busts already this year," he said.

St. Charles Man Dies After Car Crashes Into Tree On Hwy. D

• A 21-year-old St. Charles man is dead after the car he was driving hit a tree near the Highway D and Highway 94 intersection Tuesday evening. According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Matthew Wiese was driving eastbound on Highway D, near the Highway 94 intersection, when he traveled off the left side of the road and struck a tree. 

• A man held a knife and threatened to kill a woman April 6 in the first block of Gary Court in St. Charles. Melvi Rodgriguez-Barrientos, 30, of the first block of Gary Court, was charged Monday with unlawful use of a weapon.

St. Charles City Council Agrees to Move Ahead with Smoking Ban—With Exemptions

• Members of the St. Charles City Council agreed Tuesday night to move forward with an ordinance to ban smoking in the city. But the notable part of the ordinance may be in its exemptions. Board President Laurie Feldman opened the discussion by asking the council members if they even wanted to proceed with the "Smoke Free Air Act."