Columbus police say that a suspected drunk driver got his vehicle stuck in gravel at a construction zone early this morning.

According to police reports, Columbus officers found the crash at about 4 this morning at Taylor Road and 31st Street. The driver, 30-year-old Trevor A. Jessup appeared to drive past several “road closed” signs before striking a culvert and getting stuck in the gravel.

Jessup appeared to be unsteady on his feet and slurring his words, according to police reports. He failed several field sobriety tests and was arrested on a preliminary charge of operating a vehicle while intoxicated.

A Seymour woman died in a crash Thursday on North U.S. 31 in Jackson County.

36-year-old Brianne N. Fluhr was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash by the Jackson County deputy coroner.

Jackson County sheriff’s deputies say the crash happened at about 1:50 p.m. Thursday afternoon in the 5700 block of North U.S. 31, near the intersection with County Avenue. The initial investigation indicates that Fluhr was driving on County Avenue and tried to cross the  highway onto County Road 560N, pulling into the path of a car driven by 26-year-old Loren A. Smith of Seymour.

After being struck, Fluhr’s vehicle rolled several times before landing upside down.

Smith was treated at the scene and later in the evening was transported by medics to IU Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis with a back injury.

The accident is still under investigation.

There will not be a Hope Heritage Days this weekend, but the town is still going to feature events around the Town Square on Saturday.

There will be a return of the Studebaker car show from last year’s Heritage Days. While all cars are welcome, Studebakers will be featured. The car show will be from 10 to 2 and will include awards for grand champion and reserve grand champion Studebaker entries. The Night Owl Country Band will be performing from 10 to 2.

The Yellow Trail Museum will also be hosting a celebration of 100 years of Women’s Suffrage on Saturday from 10 to 3. Visitors will be able to make sashes supporting “Votes for Women.” The museum is encouraging girls to bring their American Girl dolls and sashes will also be made for the dolls. The event will include a women’s suffrage rally at noon on the north side of the Hope Town Square and a march around the square.

Several of the usual Hope Heritage Days food booths will be selling food on Saturday including the Hauser FFA which will be selling food at the Hauser Ag facility at the school from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The Exhibit Columbus 2020 Symposium is heading into its second week of events with a focus on Resiliency and Climate Adaptation.

The first session next will be at 2 Tuesday afternoon and will feature a discussion of landscape architecture and research as a response to climate crises with designer Iñaki Alday and landscape architect Kate Orff, moderated by Iker Gil.

Thursday will be a Columbus Conversation at noon featuring Miller Prize recipients Belinda Tato and Jose Luis Vallejo of Ecosistema Urbano along with Rachel Kavathe, Heather Pope, Jason Larrison, and Randy Royer talking about ecological initiatives in our community.

All of this year’s Symposium conversations are happening virtually and they will be going every other week through the last week of October.  You are encouraged to take part and the conversations are all free.

You can find more information or sign up for the conversations at ExhibitColumbus.org.

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.