Limo Service in Greenwood, IN

A new group seeks to promote civic engagement in Greenwood.

Strong Towns Greenwood aims to “advocate for the city to be safe, livable and inviting, along with working to elevate residents, business owners, local leaders and government to a high level of collaboration to better the city.” The group will, among other items, look at the design of the city to see how it will be improved to create a stronger city. It is nonpartisan and is not government-affiliated; instead it is an off-shoot of the national group with a similar mission: Strong Towns.

“We’re just aiming to make it a stronger place, mostly from the problems arising from infrastructure and in different community layouts that we have,” said JC English, the founder of the local group and a Greenwood resident.

With Strong Towns Greenwood, English hopes to start a conversation about the city’s development. He also hopes to get more people engaged and thinking critically about how development designs might impact them, along with organizing residents to attend meetings, he said.

“If we organize, we can have a stronger voice at different things like hearings and board meetings,” English said.

Another key goal for the group is ensuring the city’s new comprehensive plan stays at the forefront for development. Specifically, the group wants to make sure the plan, which was made with community input, is implemented, he said.

Strong Towns Greenwood also wants to do case studies on certain areas for how to improve them, along with traffic studies. Reducing traffic fatalities and giving residents alternative transportation options are examples of what could result from these, English said.

The group has already posted one case study about the Emerson Avenue and Main Street intersection, focusing on improving pedestrian infrastructure. They’re also planning one for the Greenwood Village South area, he said.

Other efforts would look at identifying different opportunities for in-fill development in Greenwood, English said. In-fill development encourages the development of underused or vacant land in existing urban areas to increase density and place new development near existing resources and infrastructure.

Strong Towns Greenwood wants to work cooperatively with the city on all of these efforts, English said.

English says there’s a need for a group like Strong Towns in Greenwood. Over the last 10 to 15 years, the city has grown significantly both in population and in geographic size.

“We have a very low density in Greenwood,” English said. “So if we’re going to continue to develop as an urban center — which, like it or not, Greenwood is an urban center even though we have commuters — … that means there’s gonna be more people, there’s gonna be more businesses and with that we need a better way to organize these businesses and residents or we are going to continue to see worse traffic, more [traffic] fatalities, more congestion and just an overall lack of cohesion, lack of community.”

The reason for Strong Towns is to get ahead of issues for the developments the city could have in its future, but also to advocate for repurposing and reorganizing the development the city has already seen. The city will eventually not be able to grow by only expanding geographically, he said.

“It’s hard to continue to grow that way, so we have to do that in-fill development on the small-scale side,” English said. He added if infill development doesn’t happen, then empty lots will continue to sit unused and things will start looking rundown.

For Strong Towns Greenwood in the short term, English is looking to spread the word about it and to actively grow the group. There is a Facebook page, facebook.com/profile.php?id=61573452537458, along with a Facebook group, facebook.com/groups/515490224936286.

“Just knowing there is a Strong Towns group in Greenwood is a big thing because we’ve already had people reach out and say, ‘You know, I didn’t know Greenwood had a Strong Towns,’” English said. “So I know that there are people that are receptive to the message, it’s just a matter of trying to get them involved.”

Building up the following will not only help with spreading the word of the group, but also will help when the time comes for residents and group members to advocate at city meetings. There’s strength in numbers, he said.

As it grows, English hopes to have citizens looking out for information on upcoming projects and sharing it with other residents. He also hopes for Strong Towns Greenwood and other residents to have input as the city updates its Unified Development Ordinance this year, which is expected to have public input.

For people looking for more information about the group, they can follow the Strong Towns Greenwood Facebook page or join the Facebook group. They can also go to the national Strong Town website, strongtowns.org, to look at resources and educational materials, including those for developers interested in more small-scale, infill developments, English said.

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EDUCATION

M. Scott Carter

The Oklahoman

State schools Superintendent Ryan Walters said Thursday he’s partnering with country music artist Lee Greenwood on a nationwide campaign to encourage donations of Bibles to Oklahoma classrooms.

The announcement came the day after the Oklahoma Senate nixed a $3 million request by the agency to place Bibles in classrooms. Walters had asked for the money in his proposed budget for the 2026 fiscal year, but Sen. Adam Pugh, R-Edmond — who chairs the Senate education budget subcommittee — said that request wasn’t considered by that body.

A news release issued Thursday morning by the Oklahoma State Department of Education, which Walters leads, said, “The inclusion of the Bible in classrooms is viewed not only as a religious text but as a pivotal document that has shaped societal values, legal systems, and cultural norms. There is significant opposition from the Oklahoma Legislature and they have stripped all funding away from getting Bibles back into the classroom.”

Prominent Democratic lawmakers didn't sound thrilled about Walters' idea.

"Seems like there is an interesting scheme going on there," said House Minority Leader Cyndi Munson, of Oklahoma City. "Sounds like the Senate has responded to what many Oklahomans have said, that they don't want their tax dollars going for that. We hear from both sides of the aisle that this isn't where people want their tax dollars spent. And also they also don't want us spending time talking about the Bible and religion in their classrooms but what kids need to learn to prepare for the future."

Senate Minority Leader Julia Kirt, of Oklahoma City, echoed Munson.

"Clearly he wants to keep this (Bible in classroom) conversation in the media," Kirt said. "So he is going to keep pushing it forward. So the Senate deciding not to recommend that funding makes sense. It's not a key focus for students. I'm disappointed again we're not focusing on kids. We've heard from people across the state who were upset about purchasing Bibles for schools, felt like it was out of line and not a good separation of church and state. Maybe we can put this to bed at some point and move on to the issues we can focus on."

Last June, Walters announced a Bible-teaching mandate for Oklahoma schools, although most districts haven’t followed the mandate, saying they will stick to teaching the state’s current academic standards. Walters’ agency is trying to issue a second Request for Proposal to spend taxpayer money to buy 55,000 Bibles.

What to know about Lee Greenwood's 'God Bless the USA' Bible edition endorsed by Trump

The Education Department’s original request, made in October, to purchase 55,000 Bibles appeared to be written for a specific copy of the Bible: the Lee Greenwood "God Bless the USA" edition of the Bible, which has been endorsed by President Donald Trump. That specific Bible includes all the non-biblical documents — the U.S. Constitution, the Pledge of Allegiance, the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights — listed on the original request for proposal.

The release from Walters’ agency was light on details, but it said “Greenwood and his network” would facilitate the donation of Bibles to state classrooms. The release encouraged “individual and corporate” partners to buy a Bible at www.BiblesforOklahoma.com to donate to the state Education Department. The website indicated the cost of a “Trump Bible” on the website is $59.99.

The “Trump Bible” uses the King James Version of the Bible, developed in 1611. According to the website, the campaign’s goal is to provide copies of the “Trump Bible” to as many schools within Oklahoma as possible.

Lawsuits surrounding Ryan Walters' Bible mandate for Oklahoma classrooms

The Bible mandate and the RFPs for Bible purchases have drawn two lawsuits, including one that’s pending in the Oklahoma Supreme Court.

Last month, the agency announced the issuance of a RFP for Bible-infused instructional materials for use in elementary classrooms.

That followed an announcement last November that the agency had bought more than 500 Bibles for Oklahoma public school classrooms. His agency said Wednesday that it was distributing those Bibles to Advanced Placement U.S. government classrooms in Oklahoma, even though a court hasn’t yet ruled if using taxpayer money to buy Bibles for classrooms is legal.

Supporters and critics of the Bible mandate have asked Walters on multiple occasions about the possibility of donating Bibles, questions he’s previously brushed off. The announcement Thursday would appear to indicate he’s changed his thinking on that subject.

“The Bible is indispensable in understanding the development of Western civilization and American exceptionalism, history, and all similar subjects,” Walters said in a statement. “The ongoing attempts to remove it from our classrooms is an attack on the foundation of our country."

The state agency said in the news release that, “No profit or benefit is gained by Superintendent Ryan Walters, his family, or his affiliates. This is an endorsement of the historical and secular significance of the Bible in all areas of education. The Oklahoma kids and parents are the beneficiaries of this effort.”

Phil Bacharach, a spokesman for the Oklahoma attorney general’s office, said the setup appears to be legal and in keeping with the Education Department’s policy, provided there is approval from the governor’s office. Spokespersons for Gov. Kevin Stitt didn’t immediately respond to a question about the setup on Thursday.

During his weekly news conference on Wednesday, Stitt — who’s cultivated a reputation as a budget hawk — sidestepped a question about whether or not he felt Walters’ $3 million request to spend on Bibles was appropriate. Stitt suggested using instead a popular Bible phone app, developed in Oklahoma.

Senate President Pro Tempore Lonnie Paxton, R-Tuttle, said he supported the Senate subcommittee's decision on spending state money on Bibles.

"It's one of those deals that can be a hot topic issue, especially when there is something that every student in Oklahoma can download on their phone as an app and it's free," Paxton said. "Three million dollars, obviously this year, is pretty hard to come by. We'd recommend that $3 million be spent in places that help educate our children. School districts in Oklahoma are already allowed to have Bibles in their classroom when used for historical purposes and they can download that app for free. There's no need to spend state dollars there."

(This story has been updated to add new information.)