Jon Wnoroski, Summit County Realtor

Summit County, Ohio has been blessed with numerous athletic heroes as well as many others who excelled in other fields. The likes of Jesse Owens, Nate Thurmun, Hal Naragon, Dante Lavelli, LeBron James, etc. hailed from Summit County Ohio.

Glenn "Jeep" Davis was also one of those special athletes who made his home in Summit County, Ohio.

Glenn "Jeep" Davis made his impact on our community in several ways. He was best known for his achievements in track and field at The Ohio State University as well as the 1956 and 1960 Olympics. But "Jeep" Davis also played professional football for the Detroit Lions (2 seasons) and was and educator and coach at Barberton High School (Barberton, Ohio).

Glenn "Jeep" Davis passed away this morning (January 28, 2009) and will be long remembered by those who's lives he impacted during his long and "special" life.

Below are some of his accomplishments:

• Known to a generation as the greatest hurdler in the world after winning gold medals in the 1956 and 1960 Summer Olympics
• In 2006, the Summit County Sports Hall of Fame acknowledged Davis as the greatest athlete in county history.
• A youth basketball coach once told him, ‘‘You'll never be a good athlete.''
• He became the first freshman to play varsity basketball at Follensbee High School in West Virginia.
• He single-handedly won the high school state track and field championship for Barberton High in 1954.
• Won his first Olympic gold medal in Australia
• While at The Ohio State University he set the world record in the 440-yard dash at the 1958 Big Ten Championships. He also won the 440 at the NCAA Track and Field Championships
• Davis was a key figure on the U.S. track team that toured Europe in the summer of 1958. He set the world record in the 400-yard hurdles and won nine of the 10 races he competed in over a 14-day span.
• Davis was honored as the top amateur athlete in the United States when he was voted the James E. Sullivan Award winner in 1958

Bill Lilly, a staff writer for the Akron Beacon Journal, wrote an outstanding article on "Jeep" Davis. You can read his article reporting the death of Glenn "Jeep" Davis by reading the following article in the Akron Beacon Journal:

http://www.ohio.com/news/top_stories/38530959.html

http://www/JonWHome.com

Summit County, Ohio has seen a change in the real estate landscape over the past eight years. In the first half of this period sales were going great with 2004 representing the "peak" period with over 8,000 units sold in the county. However, from 2005 - 2008, the county saw a drastic decline in the number of homes sold.

During 2005 and 2006, Summit County saw a 10% and 13% decline in home sales respectively. However, 2007 and 2008 saw declines in sales of 28% and 30%.

Overall, from the period 2001 - 2008, the county has experienced a little over 54% decline in home sales.

Most areas in Summit County reflect similar declines with 2004 generally representing the "peak" sales year during this period. Following the "boon" market of 2004, the numbers of homes in each local area within the county reflected a decline in sales.

The sales data used in this report was taken from the Summit County Auditor's Web site (http://www.co.summit.oh.us/fiscaloffice/index.htm) and represents "Arms Length Sales."

An arms-length sale (transaction) is: A sale which is freely arrived at in the open market between a willing buyer and a willing seller and unaffected by abnormal pressure. Sales that could possibly not qualify as arms length transactions would be sales between family members, business partners, or foreclosure sales.

http://www/JonWHome.com

The University of Akron men's soccer team is closing in on a national championship. This is not a new scenario for the University's most notable sport on the national scene. The men's soccer team has been a perennial power for several years and has been ranked high nationally during most of their past several seasons.

This year they are five games from a national championship; however, last year they got this close and lost 1-0 in double overtime in a second round match of the NCAA tournament.

Historically the Zip soccer team has had many notable players and outstanding coaches. Back in the 70s Robert Dowdy led the team to several successful seasons and carried on the University's history of soccer excellence. Following Robert Dowdy, Steve Parker took over the reigns and continued the success expected of the team. Coach Parker took the zips to the national championship game in Tacoma, Washington only to lose 1-0 to Duke.

I remember that season not only as a former soccer coach but also because one of my high school stand-out players was a part of that team. David Wells was not only a great player but also a fine gentleman. He started every game for the zips throughout his four year career at the University.

The current Zips coach is Caleb Parker and all of us in northeast Ohio that follow the men's soccer team are hopeful that he'll bring home that elusive national championship.

The Akron Beacon Journal reported on the team's success. You can read the article by following this link:

http://www.ohio.com/sports/35048649.html

UPDATE: Akron defeated Ohio State 1-0 with 5 seconds remaining in the second overtime.

Read the story below:

http://www.ohio.com/news/break_news/35161854.html

Akron lost their third round NCAA game to Northwestern 1 - 0. Read the story below:

http://www.ohio.com/sports/35298339.html

Green High School recently performed the musical "Crazy for You." Each year the school displays the talents of their students by staging a performance during the fall and spring. Anyone who attends one of the performances put on by the school is never disappointed. I have been going to Green High School performances for several years and thoroughly enjoy them.

It is amazing how much talent these young men and women have and how well they perform in the roles they have been cast. I can remember a lot of years ago (when I was in high school - OK quite a bit more than a lot of years ago) the high school plays my school put on. They didn't come close to what schools are doing today. The kids performing for their schools today are multi-talented; and their talent level is truly high.

My daughter and niece participated in these school productions when they were in school. My daughter played in the pit orchestra while my niece sang and danced.

In recent years a new star in our family has surfaced. My nephew has performed (singing, dancing, acting, etc.) in the school productions and has done quite well. The first time I heard him sing I was truly amazed; I didn't realize he had that kind of talent.

I have watched him in "Beauty and the Beast" and now "Crazy for You." I loved the music in both of these performances but especially loved the music from this last performance. The music was from a generation before mine but certainly from that created great music.

The students of Green High School and their teachers are to be congratulated for doing a great job in the performing arts. It takes a lot of work to put on a good production and it is obvious they have done that.

Ted Jackovics of the Tampa Tribune published an article on November 19, 2008 that caught the eye of a couple of my fraternity brothers living in Sebring, FL that they immediately forwarded to me.

The title of the article would catch any Ohio "snowbird's" and reads:

"For Real Estate, Akron Ranked No. 1 In This College Poll"

Well, if you're from the Akron a poll that ranks Akron #1 is something that will catch your eye.

The article was based on a Coldwell Banker ranking that points out that The University of Akron is the top ranked college town for affordable housing. According to the article:

The five most affordable college markets for home prices fitting that criteria range from $135,780 to $155,000 are:

• The University of Akron (Ohio),
• Ball State University (Muncie, Ind.),
• Texas Christian University (Fort Worth),
• The University of Tulsa (Okl.) and
• University of Toledo (Ohio).

The five most-expensive college markets: (average prices from $1.1 million to 1.7 milion)

• Stanford University (Calif.);
• Boston College;
• The University of California,
• Berkeley; University of California, Los Angeles; and
• The University of Southern California (Los Angeles

It is not uncommon for some parents to have an interest in purchasing a home that can be used by their children who attend college at a distance from their home base as investment property and, according to this article, parents can get the best buy in the Akron area.

The cost of housing at most universities is expensive and that cost will be there for anywhere from four to five years; maybe more depending on the age of your children.

Is it a good investment to buy a home in a college town to use as housing for your college student? I think it is since you can treat the property as a rental and take advantage of deductions. In addition, if you have property that can be used for student housing, you will be able to take advantage of the rental income it will produce to offset your costs.

Your student will have housing costs whether you invest in property or not. Owning rental property in your student's college town will help offset that expense and return revenue to you in the process. You can either elect to hold on to the property after your student graduates or put it back on the market and hope to get a return on your investment.