The head of Kelowna's Economic Development Commission is encouraged with the unemployment numbers released Friday morning.

According to Stats Can, unemployment in Kelowna fell in December to 5.8%, compared with 6.3% in November, bucking the trend both provincially and nationally.

The B.C. unemployment rate rose in December to 5.3%, up from from 4.9% in November while nationally, the unemployment rate climbed from 6.3% in November to 6.6% last month.

Central Okanagan Economic Development Commissioner, Robert Fine, says the local numbers offer some encouragement to an otherwise gloomy economic horizon.

"Obviously it's encouraging when you see the number increasing nationally. B.C. is holding steady, so it seems we are outperforming the rest of the country," says Fine.

"In light of all the bombardment of negativity out there, those numbers today should be looked at as encouraging to say the least."

While not discounting the effect the economic downturn will have in Canada, Fine says Canada and the Okanagan are in much better shape than the United States.

He says Canada lost slightly more than 34,000 jobs in December, compared with half a million south of the border.

"If we're 10% of their population, you'd expect the US to lose 340,000 or 350,000 jobs, but they lost half a million. You can see how much more challenging it is for them and how much Canada is better off."

He adds that while the Okanagan won't feel the pinch as badly as others, he does not expect the declining rate to be the trend for 2009.

Meantime, Fine says people shouldn't think everything is rosy with the downturn in the unemployment rate.

He says there is still a significant number of jobs not being filled.

"The hospitality industry in particular are still struggling to fill positions. The reality is they have positions that aren't being filled for significant periods of time. There is work out there."

Fine says there are a number of reasons for the large availability of jobs.

He says wages are just part of the scenario.

"We may have very skilled people available in one area where there aren't jobs in the Central Okanagan and to counter that, we may have jobs that don't match those skill sets. As a result you have job openings and an unemployment rate that hovers."

Kelowna RCMP have identified a suspect wanted in connection with a debit card scam in the Kelowna area.

Police says Adam White, 25, is suspected of obtaining and fraudulently using personal information belonging to others.

"This information is then used to acquire duplicate debit cards in the names of his victims, which are then used on-line and at points of purchase," says Constable, Steve Holmes.

"White currently has an outstanding warrant for drug related offences in Abbotsford."

Holmes says police do not believe White is involved in incidents of debit card fraud which have been reported recently in the District of Westside.

He says that investigation is continuing.

Anyone with information on White's whereabouts is asked to call police or Crime Stoppers.

It was knocking off hub caps, puncturing tires and bending rims, but crews have managed to put a lid on a massive pot hole in Kelowna -- one of many in the city.

The hole in question is located in the slow northbound lane of Highway 97 right in front of United Furniture near Highway 33.

By late Wednesday night, the hole had punctured several tires.

"It looked like a puddle of water. My rear tire caught it and it blew in an instant," says Cheryl Sorensen, who adds that the hole should have been flagged.

Fixing potholes on Highway 97 is the responsibility of Argo Road Maintenance.

Employee, Brent Graham, who patched up the massive hole Thursday following several complaints, admits it was a doosy.

"It's one of the worst one's I've seen. On a scale of one to 10, I would give it an eight."

Kelowna's, city transportation services manager, Dale Beaudry says he's received very few complaints about potholes and when he does, they're taken care of right away.

"We have a portable asphalt recycling plant that we use in the winter months and that gives a leg up on our neighbouring communities because we can make permanent fixes whereas they can only make temporary ones."

Beaudry says damage claims against the City of Kelowna as the result of potholes are rare.

"They would have to prove negligence on the part of the city. And we're pretty quick in reacting to it, so we protect ourselves that way."

ICBC, meantime, says it has seen a steady increase in claims since winter arrived, some dealing with potholes.

"We've seen a 25 to 30 per cent increase in claims over this time last year," says spokesperson, Michelle Hargrave.

She says ICBC clients can make a damage claim from potholes, but it will end up costing you in the long run.

"If you do damage to your vehicle from a pothole, it falls under your collision insurance because you've had a collision with something on the road. That falls under your optional insurance. So, you can make a claim and decide whether you want to pay the deductible."

Interview with Argo Road Maintenance employee Brent Graham (Video - Kelly Hayes)

At the end of the day, Kelowna City Councillor, Graeme James, says he can live with a 3.35% tax increase and hopes the citizens can as well.

James, elected to council for the first time in November, sat through his first budget deliberation Wednesday.

He was adamant from the start that the proposed budget, which included a 4.49% tax hike, should be trimmed down to 3%.

After a marathon 16 hours of deliberations, in which councillors went over the budget document line by line, James and Councillor Andre Blanleil voted against the budget, stating their belief the increase should be brought closer to the 3% number.

"It's an effort of the entire council. There are nine votes. I wasn't upset about it. I just didn't vote for the budget because I thought we owed it to the taxpayers at this time to get down to the 3% level," says James.

"I would have liked to have seen some of the projects deferred to next year when we won't have the 1.8% from the Aquatic Centre. That was my main thrust but some of the councillors wanted things done this year and that is what happened."

A number of capital projects were cut from the budget, but James says what surprised him most was the number of park projects on the books.

"It was a real eye opener for me to see how many parks were in the queue to be built. We've got a lot of work to do and unfortunately the times are going to be lean. We're just going into this recession and hopefully it won't last long."

The 3.35% tax increase means the owner of the average $495,000 home will pay approximately $55 more in taxes in 2009.

The 2009 budget won't become official until May.

A Kelowna business is sounding the alarm following a bizarre break-in.

Island Snow at Orchard Plaza was broken into last Sunday.

Co-owner, Dustin Bigney, says the culprits went to extremes by breaking into his business through the roof. And he says it appears to be a disturbing trend.

"My understanding from the RCMP is this is an on-going thing in Kelowna right now. I've talked to other business owners and the word around town is that a few places have been hit recently."

He says whoever broke into his business had to be tiny and knew something about alarm systems.

"The hole measured 10x10 inches. I looked at it and thought, 'how does anyone get in and out of there?' They didn't come into any areas of the store where there were sensors in the building."

Bigney says the suspects left through the hole in the roof. He says the thieves were looking for information.

"They were after cash and credit card information. They completely tossed all the filing cabinets, looking for receipts."

The thieves left empty handed.

Bigney says that since the break-in, Island Snow has installed additional security sensors in the entire store and the mall has hired a full-time guard.

Meantime, he says the community has to be vigilant.

"If a guy's up on a roof at 2:30 in the morning, cutting a hole, he probably shouldn't be there. Things are getting a little tougher out there and people are getting a little more desperate. The whole community has to work together. If you see someone or a vehicle where they shouldn't be, maybe just take note."

Interview with Dustin Bigney (Video - Kelly Hayes)