When will Luzerne County conduct the next reassessment?

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Luzerne County officials hear arguments for and against union labor construction agreements

At the start of the season, former Penguins coach Mike Sullivan preached a commitment to speed and an attacking offense as the hallmarks of this year&#8217;s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton team.Sullivan has long since departed to Pittsburgh, as have six players from the opening day roster.While major change has taken place and with players up from Wheeling filling roles, the team&#8217;s identity remains intact.&#8220;We want to utilize our speed,&#8221; coach Clark Donatelli said after Thursday&#8217;s practice at the Toyota Sportsplex. &#8220;We&#8217;re still a very fast team. Our identity is our speed and puck possession.&#8221;Although the Penguins have lost five straight, Donatelli isn&#8217;t using the roster turnover as an excuse. He said the team still has a core of five defensemen &#8212; Reid McNeill, Tim Erixon, Will O&#8217;Neill, Steve Oleksy and Niclas Andersen &#8212; and goaltenders Tristan Jarry and Matt Murray, who have been with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for the majority of the season.Donatelli also pointed out that of the five losses, three occurred in overtime and were games that could have gone either way. The two other losses, he said, came at the hands of Toronto and Hershey &#8212; both among the top teams in the conference.But that&#8217;s not to say that Donatelli wants to see a few things change.He wants to see his team shoot the puck more, get back to executing the small details in a game and not worry too much about producing offense.&#8220;The goals will come. We have to play the right way,&#8221; he said. &#8220;That&#8217;s what we&#8217;re preaching right now.&#8221;NOTES&#8226; After missing the Hershey game due to illness, Murray practiced in full on Thursday and is ready to go. Sahir Gill didn&#8217;t practice and is out with a lower body injury, while Tyler Biggs won&#8217;t be making the trip to Portland and is considered day-to-day. Defenseman Barry Goers practiced for the first time without the red no-contact jersey, but Donatelli said he is still a week to 10 days away from a possible return.&#8226; Donatelli put Derek Army on a line with Kael Mouillierat and Dominik Simon on Thursday, a trio that he has used before.&#8220;(Army) is pretty good down low and has a good hockey IQ,&#8221; Donatelli said. &#8220;That&#8217;s something we wanted to look at.&#8221;&#8226; Center Oskar Sundqvist was reassigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton by Pittsburgh on Thursday.<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Tom Veneskytvenesky@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta>UP NEXT&#8226; Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (32-16-4-1, .651, 1st place in the Atlantic Division) at Portland Pirates (30-20-2-0, .596, 3rd place in the Atlantic Division)&#8226; 7 p.m. Friday at the Cross Insurance Arena, Portland, Maine&#8226; Listen live on 103.1FM-WILKPlayers to watchPortland: Sena Acolatse recieved a match penalty for fighting Patrick McGrath with tape on his fingers the last time Portland played the Penguins.Penguins: Carter Rowney has six goals and 11 points in nine games this month.</factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach Tom Venesky at 570-991-6395 or on Twitter @TLTomVenesky</shirttailMeta></div>

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins look to right the ship on the road