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FEDS PUMP $431 MILLION INTO BORDER IMPROVEMENTS Stockwell Day delivers message See NEWS Page 3 LOCAL COMMUNICATIONS COMPANY CELEBRATES A CENTURY OF SERVICE See COMMUNITY Page 9 ROOKIES SHOWCASE TALENTS Four 73's play in annual showcase game See SPORTS Page 17 $1.00 "Serving Essex and Community Since 1896" (GST included) Whole Number 6221 Registration No. 08565 Volume 128 No. 3 Phone: 519-776-4268 Fax: 519-776-4014 519-776-4021 32D Arthur Ave., Essex Wednesday, January 17, 2007 http://essexfreepress.reinvented.net High speed police chase tears through downtown BY DANIEL SCHWAB A high-speed chase through downtown Essex Saturday ended with two people being sent to hospital and a Windsor man facing numerous charges. At around 4:45 p.m., a white Chrysler speeding westbound on Highway 3 refused to stop for an Essex OPP officer, said Const. Janet Hayes. The speeding vehicle made a right turn onto County Road 23 and headed north toward downtown Essex. With a police car in pursuit, the Chrysler made a left turn heading westbound and continued driving in a dangerous manner, narrowly missing several pedestrians crossing the road, Hayes said. The driver then rammed into a black pickup truck that was making a left turn onto Victoria Street, Hayes said. The Chrysler continued westbound on Talbot Street before smashing into the rear of a silver Grand Prix and finally coming to a stop. An ambulance took the two people in the Grand Prix to Leamington Memorial Hospital where they were treated and later released. The woman driving the black pickup trip was not AFTERMATH ­ Pictured in front of the Saan Store in Essex, police cruisers' headlights illuminate a white Chrysler vehicle following a high-speed chase through downtown Essex late in the afternoon Saturday. According to the Ontario Provincial Police, a 24-year-old Windsor man is in custody facing numerous charges. Council approves new arena design BY DANIEL SCHWAB Essex Town Council approved a motion for Rounthwaite, Dick and Hadley Architects Inc. to move forward on a design development process after the firm presented plans for a twin-pad arena facility during a special meeting Jan. 15. The design development stage is set to take six weeks and will study the electrical specifications and structural plans for the facility, said architect Robert Goyeche. The design will then be forwarded to a cost consultant and returned to the arena steering committee for approval. Tariq Qureshy, senior project manager for MHPM Project Managers Inc., said plans will have to move fast if the facility is to be up and running for the beginning of the 2008 hockey season. If the steering committee and council approve the price tag, a three-month process to tender documents will take place before construction can begin. Ward 1 Councillor Randy Voakes welcomed the progress made on the project. "Right now there are people going to other municipalities for hockey and that money is being wasted," said Voakes, a member of the arena steering committee. "Clearly we need a new facility." The Plans Members of the public packed into Essex Town Council chambers for a glimpse of the new arena design. They were shown plans for a twin-pad facility that includes bowl seating for 1,500 fans, offices, dressing rooms, meeting rooms, washrooms, a concession stand, skate shop and community room in the primary rink. A second rink that could be phased into the construction plans would accommodate about 150 spectators. Goyeche said costs would be similar to the St. Thomas Community Centre Complex, which was used as a rough model for the Essex facility and carried a price tag of around $12.5 million three years ago. But Goyeche added, "You never know the actual price until somebody says they'll build it for (a certain) amount." Council is already moving forward on an application for a grant under the Rural province's Infrastructure Investment Initiative. SEE ARENA, PAGE 2 injured. Yunner "Alex" Anrocho, 24, of Windsor has since been released from police custody but is facing two criminal charges ­ dangerous driving and flight from police. Police are also charging Anrocho with five Highway Traffic Act charges ­ driving without insurance, driving an unfit vehicle, driving while suspended, using borrowed licence plates and failing to register the vehicle. Hayes said the white Chrysler reached speeds of 150 km/h during the police chase through downtown and was destroyed in the crash. The Grand Prix sustained extensive damage and the black pickup truck received moderate damage as a result of the collisions. Anrocho is set to appear in a Windsor court. Essex resident Agnes Cameron was walking downtown at the time of the chase. "This car came flipping through and two police cruisers were doing the same," Cameron said. "I heard the thud. I couldn't believe it. Somebody could've gotten killed."