GEORGETOWN – Kevin Wood is preparing to sue this town for then- SelectBoard chair Robert Hoover having him removed from a board meeting last spring when Wood criticized the chair and the town administrator. Wood said in the televised SelectBoard meeting, “If the Board...
Stewart Lytle
Stewart Lytle is the lead reporter for The Town Common newspaper. Before joining The Town Common, he was a national correspondent for Scripps-Howard Newspapers in Washington, D.C., covering the Pentagon and Congress. He has also written for newspapers in Dallas, TX, and Birmingham, AL.
As a national reporter for the Scripps Howard newspaper chain, Stewart wrote the inside story on military life of soldiers and sailors and their families. He landed on aircraft carriers, experienced oxygen deprivation for high-altitude flight training and crawled through the mud with Marine snipers.
One of his proudest achievements outside of journalism was assisting USAA Chairman Robert McDermott in securing federal legislation that mandated air bags in vehicles.
Stewart is also a novelist and has written non-fiction books. He is currently working on a non-fiction book and screenplay about an incident that occurred in Boston.
His first novel, Iron City Conspiracy, explores power in a city. It features a black newspaper editor solving the bombing of a historic black church in a tough Alabama town.
Following in the footsteps of his idol, Ernest Hemingway, Stewart has completed a new novel about a love affair in the midst of the Spanish Civil War. The book, Montserrat, is based on a true story and has been made into a screenplay that will become an international feature film.
A graduate of Phillips Academy and Princeton University, Stewart lives with his wife, Mary, in Newburyport.
New COA Director Has Big Plans for Seniors
ROWLEY – The new director of the Council on Aging has lofty ambitions for the town’s seniors, which make up about a third of the approximately 6,250 residents. Marty Blanchard wants the town to find or build a space large enough and designed for senior activities....
The Canada Geese Are Winning
NEWBURY – The current battle for control of the Upper Green on High Road has nothing to do with Colonial-era militia or General Benedict Arnold’s stopover on route to his disastrous raid on Quebec. The town’s Highway Department is battling hordes of Canadian geese,...
Georgetown: Pickleball Does Not Get ‘Overwhelming’ Support
GEORGETOWN – Indoor pickleball did not come up a winner in Michael Donahue’s on-line survey of whether the town should use a $1 million donation to build a facility for four courts at the East Main Street Recreational Area. In its place, the Parks & Recreation...
New Rowley Fire Chief
ROWLEY – With the appointment of 44-year-old Daniel Veinot as the town’s Fire Chief last week and the appointment in January of 39-year-old Michael Balsley as Police Chief, Rowley has its public safety leadership in place for years to come. “That was one of the...
Thom Gould Served the Newburyport Maritime Museum Well
NEWBURYPORT − The U.S. flag at the Custom House Maritime Museum flew at half-staff last week to honor Thom Gould, a great friend of the museum, a former director and past chair of the board. Born in December 1944, he passed away on Aug. 10. A vice chair of the museum...
Georgetown Explores Pickleball Courts with Online Survey
GEORGETOWN – Selectman Mike Donahue, who also chairs the Parks and Recreation Commission, is conducting a public survey to gauge residents’ interest in using a $1 million donation from Jim Bussing Sr. to build a four-court, indoor pickleball facility. The proposal is...
FaceBook Responses to Pickleball Proposal
Facebook posts and the survey results may differ, but the announcment of a survey by Selectman Mike Donahue, who also chairs the Parks and Recreation Commission brought strong responses, some are included below: Mary-Liz Murray wrote: “Would love to see that donation...
Rowley Honors Purple Heart Recipients
ROWLEY – Chester Bishop was a gunner’s mate on swift boat river patrols in southern Vietnam in December 1968 when he was wounded the first time. The Army, short of soldiers, patched him up and returned him to his boat, where six months later he was injured again by an...
Amesbury Deploys High-Tech Against Potholes ($31,500 to survey potholes)
AMESBURY – The pothole you hit that jolts your jaw and bounces your eyes out their sockets has a new enemy. The city of Amesbury has brought in high-tech resources for the first time to map cracks, holes and other decaying spots in the city’s 74 miles of streets. That...
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Recent News
- Roots Concerts Entertain, Restore Newburyport Church Sep 23, 2026
- IPSWICH CENTRAL STREET CUMBERLAND FARMS We couldn’t leave out Sean Mellow (left), another long time worker at 24/7 Cumby’s in Ipswich, with Joseppi DeMarco (right) reading a copy of The Town Common from the NEW red newspaper box outside of Cumberland Farms, downtown Ipswich. Sep 23, 2026
- Thom Gould Served the Maritime Museum Well Sep 23, 2026
- Even the Topsfield Fair Is Being Scammed Sep 23, 2026



