A Louisville man is accused of leading police on a chase through Jackson and Bartholomew counties yesterday.

Indiana State Police are reporting that a trooper noticed a car with no license plates speeding just north of Seymour on Interstate 65 at about 4:30 Wednesday afternoon. The trooper tried to stop the vehicle near the Jonesville exit but instead the driver took off.

Other police agencies joined the chase, which ended when the car hit two state police vehicles north of the Columbus exit.

The driver, 29 year old Derek Smith was taken into custody and found to be carrying two handguns, one of which had been reported stolen out of Louisville. Smith was taken to Columbus Regional Hospital to be checked out before being taken to the Jackson County Jail on preliminary charges of Resisting Law Enforcement in a Vehicle, Possession of Stolen Property, Reckless Driving, and Possession of a Handgun without a Permit.He was also wanted on a warrant out of Lafayette.

The Bartholomew County 911 center is making plans to go mobile in case of an emergency that wipes out service at the center.

Todd Noblitt, director of the 911 center, told the county commissioners this week that as part of the ongoing upgrades to the 911 phone system, the county now has the opportunity to use mobile command units. Noblitt said that the portable equipment will give the county the ability to operate 911 services from alternate locations. It will replicate all the center’s capabilities all the way down to the location detection technology that allows dispatchers to locate the caller’s exact spot.

The equipment will also allow the center to increase its capacity by four fully-functioning consoles, Noblitt said. That would come in handy during major emergencies or crisis situations such as during a flood or other disaster.

Noblitt said he would like to find a location that could be used as a secondary dispatch center and permanently store the consoles there but until then, they would be stored at the dispatch center. However, commissioners said they would prefer them to be stored at a 24-hour facility such as the county jail. But they agreed that the units needed a permanent home.

The four mobile command units will cost just over $104,000 and Noblitt said it would be paid for out of federal funds from the CARES act allotted for COVID-19 expenses.

Commissioners approved the addendum to the 911 center’s contract with AT&T.

Gov. Eric Holcomb announced this afternoon during his afternoon press conference that Indiana was moving to Stage 5 of the Back on Track Indiana plan.

The state will move to the next stage on Saturday.

Holcomb said that masks are still going to be required. He said that residents’ adherence to mask requirements is what is letting the state move to the next stage.

According to the Indiana Back on Track plan, Stage 5 will mean reopening, with appropriate social distancing:

• Restaurants, bars, and nightclubs may operate at full capacity
• Personal services may open at full capacity
• Gyms, fitness centers and workout facilities may operate at full capacity
• Conventions may resume at full capacity
• Amusement parks, water parks, and like facilities may operate at full capacity. Social distancing guidelines should be maintained
• Cultural, entertainment, and tourism sites may open at full capacity. This includes museums, zoos, aquariums, and like facilities
• Pari-mutuel horse racing and county and state fair racing may operate at full spectator capacity
• Raceway events may return to full capacity

This story will be updated

Vice President Mike Pence is safe after Air Force Two hit a bird

Our news-gathering partners at TTWN Media Networks report that, it happened as the vice president was leaving New Hampshire. Air Force Two returned to the airport out of an abundance of caution and landed safely.

No one on board was hurt. Pence had to take a cargo plane back to Washington, D.C.

A Columbus man is being accused of stealing delivered packages left on a porch.

Columbus police say that officers were called to the 1700 block of Central Avenue after a witness report a man taking two packages off a porch. Officers reviewed security camera footage from outside the home where the theft happened.

Police found the man, 51-year-old Anthony B. Mitchell, a short time later and recovered the two packages, which contained moped parts.

He was arrested on a preliminary charge of theft.