Yes, it's upriver and seemingly far away, but the ongoing saga of bar-related incidents in St. Charles is interesting, both because folks from our town sometimes frequent those establishments and because similar events could happen here.

Two St. Charles police officers stopped for a traffic light at East Main Street and Riverside Avenue watched a drunken man stumble around the sidewalk before entering a downtown bar.

What came next, after the officers parked their squads and followed the man into The House Pub, 16 S. 1^st Ave., was a profanity-laced confrontation with one of the owners that will be recorded in a report of a state liquor commission violation to the St. Charles Liquor Commission.

Police said the incident began about 1:02 a.m. Friday, March 16, 2013. The officers parked their squads and headed to the bar and was met on the sidewalk by owners Thomas P. Wojick and Stephen J. Erd. The officers explained they were checking on an intoxicated individual and entered the bar, where they found the man, who had been served a Jameson and Coke.

Wojick came inside and asked the officer what was going on, and the officer informed him he would be writing up a report indicating the bar had served an alcoholic beverage to an already-intoxicated individual.

That was the start of a dispute in which Wojick argued first that that individual had been served a Coke, which the bartender disputed. Then Wojick insisted the individual had not taken a drink yet, and moved the drink away from him. At that point, the officer pointed out that if that argument was true, The House Pub still was harboring an intoxicated individual, also a violation of the liquor code.

Police said that by this point, Wojick was yelling at the officer, who called in his sergeant. As the situation progressed, police said Wojick became more profane with the sergeant and also used a crotch-grabbing gesture while telling the sergeant to “patronize this.”

After concluding his investigation, the officer informed one of the other owners that the matter would be reported to the St. Charles Liquor Commission.