Let’s rip the bandage off this right now — Hermiston Herald editor Erick Peterson is off for a while as he continues to recover from some health issues. Erick loves the Herald and the Hermiston community, and we all wish him a speedy recovery.

Still, the Herald marches on, and Erick early in the week provided a big look at the controversy that developed this school year at Hermiston High School over enforcement of the dress code. The big takeaway — a lot more girls than boys were getting in trouble for dress code violations, but school officials still won’t talk about the situation.

The partnership with Northeast Oregon Now is proving beneficial. Michael Kane, who operates NOW — northeastoregonnow.com — provided stories on a local group’s proposal for preserving Hermiston’s past as well as on a group blasting the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality proposal to reduce certain air pollution permit requirements for the Threemile Canyon factory farm gas refinery. 

Looking ahead — online first at www.hermistonherald.com and then Wednesday’s print edition — reporter Beau Glynn has “Barriers to development” — a story on Hermiston dealing with the lack of land it has ready to go for industry.

— Andrew Cutler is the publisher of the Hermiston Herald.