There was sound. There was fury. And in the end, it amounted to almost nothing.

Kimball County voted overwhelmingly against the proposal that taxpayers shoulder $8 million to pay for a sportsman class drag strip, with 86.5 percent striking the no column versus just 13.5 percent in favor. In raw numbers the decision appeared even more one-sided: 1,285 against, 200 for--and this despite months of presentations by Dick Cutshaw and other supporters.

According to Kimball County Clerk, Cathy Sibal, the voter turnout for this Special Election reached 50.3 percent.  This represented far stronger participation than the primary and general elections of 2010, which saw less than half, or 40.10 percent and 45.18 percent, respectively, of Kimball County’s registered voters visit the polling booths.

In the last special election held in Kimball county--the September 2007 decision on city tax renewal--only 18.01 percent of the registered voters turned out. Kimball County currently lists 3,028 registered voters.

“I’m grateful to the voters for coming out and exercising their right to vote,” said Kimball’s county clerk, Cathy Sibal, “We had a nice turn out, everything went well at the polls and the people have spoken.”

This controversial proposal has been a Kimball County conversation point since late in 2010. For well over a year now, Kimball, Dix and Bushnell residents have been discussing the pros and cons of having a raceway located in Kimball and having the taxpayers of Kimball County foot the bill for the project. At one point supporters of the track even pushed for a recall of county commissioners and the county clerk. In recent weeks the debate had turned sour, with one HPMS supporter resorting to insults against farmers--who had rallied in opposition to the proposal.

A few voters listed the recall push as the point that turned them against the idea. Some in post vote interviews talked about the acrimony. Most, however, cited public funding, the tax burden or doubt in HPMS promises as their reasons for voting in the negative.

“Everybody involved wanted the people to make the choice and they did” Sibal said. “It’s the beauty of being in America.”

Approximately 29 provisional votes remain to be checked. These include registered voters who changed precincts within the county. The number will not change the outcome.

Sibal credited the number of mailers and flyers, as well as media attention, for the strong turnout. “I’m not sure we won’t do that in the future,” she said, explaining that it is costly for the county to print ballots for 18 percent participation.

The drag strip proposal dominated local news ever since HPMS supporters turned to the taxpayers after investment firms turned down the idea.

In February of 2011 the group held a meeting opened to the public, along with the county commissioners and the city councilmen, where Cutshaw presented the information that he claimed he had gathered over a few years and answered questions from the public.

The next month, steps were taken to examine the idea by the city council and the board. This discussion included a look into the current inter local agreement between the city of Kimball and Kimball County on behalf of the HPMS.

In April of 2011,  county attorney Dave Wilson informed the commissioners that the inter local agreement between Kimball County and the City of Kimball could not be expanded to include HPMS. Two months later, a petition submitted by HPMS for a special election was rejected due to vague language and a failure to comply with regulations.

The situation devolved from there, almost ending in a December 2011 circulation of recall forms by HPMS supporters, aimed at two county commissioners and the county clerk. Finally, in January of this year the commissioners voted to approve a special election.