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JACKSON JUNCTION - She knew her daughter would die Wednesday morning. She also knew the entire drama was only a drill, a bit of make-believe to remind students about the dangers of driving drunk.

The tears Diane Bruess wiped away were real.

"This is my biggest fear. This is not something I wanted to act."

She played a distraught mother arriving at an accident scene, in this case, a vehicle pinned under a tipped school bus. Jamie Bruess, a 17-year-old senior, was trapped in the car.

Eventually, firefighters, first responders and paramedics pulled the girl from the simulated wreckage. Diane for the first time saw a mass of fake blood and severe wounds.

That was bad enough. But the fantasy also fell close to Diane Bruess' history.

"My dad died in a car accident when I was 9 years old," she said.

Eugene Rosenbaum was killed 38 years ago.

Illustrating, though not intentionally, one point of the mock disaster: Accidents and misfortune can happen, even to students at Turkey Valley High School.

If that sounds a little preachy, OK. Organizers wanted to make a clear point as young people prepare for prom and graduation. And by design, school officials and emergency management personnel left very little to the imagination. When the time came to transfer Jamie from ambulance to hearse, the vehicles backed in front of bleachers arranged nearby so students could get an unobstructed view. During the event firefighters also purposely carried each of the dozen victims within a few feet of the spectators.

Lyndsey Manderfield is school liaison at Turkey Valley and chairwoman of the school's crisis emergency management team. She helped pull the ambitious drama together in cooperation with the Waucoma Fire Department.

Manderfield believes the impact will linger.

"Like anything, for a while it does. I guess that's why we try to do it every three years," she said.

Principal Joel Weeks described Wednesday's realistic play acting as an observational exercise for the young people. The last one in 2004 involved a motorcycle versus a car.

Students at Turkey Valley participate in other types of drills more frequently, and in fact a serious effort to address crisis management began about 12 years ago. At that time, instructions on how to deal with an emergency at the school - defined then as either a fire or a tornado - fit on a single sheet of paper. With time, forethought and practice, administrators beefed up their manual to include about 90 pages.

"We just added pandemic," Manderfield said.

Kids and staff members routinely practice lockdowns and in 2005 conducted an all-school evacuation drill. The scenario portrayed events following a propane tank explosion, and every student in kindergarten through 12th grade left the property. They reassembled a few miles away in Fort Atkinson.

"It was about 570 kids plus all the staff," Manderfield said.In fact, when it comes to emergency preparedness, Turkey Valley is viewed as a model for other school districts to follow. Staff members meet monthly to review plans. Evaluations follow every drill.

Recognizing the degree of sophistication, the School Administrators of Iowa last year invited Manderfield and others to share their knowledge at the organization's annual conference.

"We've put a lot of work into it," Manderfield said.

Principal Weeks attaches the desire to get ready for whatever may come to the school's location. Turkey Valley is in Jackson Junction, population 60. The town is on Iowa Highway 24 in the extreme southwest corner of Winneshiek County. The closest city, Waucoma, population 299, is six miles away. The closest hospital is 30 minutes away.

"We just believe that we need to be prepared. We are remote," Weeks said.

In recent years, Manderfield noted more and more segments of the wider community have played supporting roles. Planning for Wednesday's mock disaster took seven months and incorporated agencies in three counties - Winneshiek, Fayette and Chickasaw - and at least eight towns.

"Let me tell you, it's been a lot of work," Manderfield said.

Real life intruded Monday when a student at Virginia Tech gunned down 32 people. While the scenario was different, organizers viewed Cho Seung-Hui's rampage as evidence mass casualties can develop with very little notice anywhere.

"Everybody thinks it's not going to happen to them. 'Oh, it's Turkey Valley. They're out in the country,'" Manderfield said. "Unfortunately, it happens in places that people least expect it."

Bruce Goetsch, coordinator of Winneshiek County Emergency Management Agency, also noted the headlines coming out of Blacksburg, Va.

"We have to be concerned about those things," he said.

Which is why officials eagerly agree each year to participate in what for their departments is an opportunity to train. Wednesday at least 50 people - some volunteers, others paid professionals - rehearsed their response.

Such exercises are more than handy refresher courses, said Bill Ziegler, coordinator of Fayette County Emergency Management Agency.

"I think they're critical," he said.

Train. Plan. Execute.

"It's a never-ending cycle. And it's the only way you can really test the system," Ziegler added.

While the mock disaster dealt with life-and-death issues, a few lighter moments surfaced.

"Ken, Gretchen's neck injury is coming off," a voice called during prep time at the fire station in Waucoma.

Gretchen Myers, 18, returned to the makeup chair and Ken Rasing, coordinator of Chickasaw County Emergency Management. Rasing was applying a second layer of stickum when a student actor offered another observation.

"Jamie, you can't chew gum if you're going to die."

But it probably helped overcome an earlier problem: Fake blood doesn't taste very good, as Jamie Bruess learned by accident.

The 17-year-old volunteered and encouraged her mother, Diane, to participate as well.

"I tried to back out. She wouldn't let me," Diane said.

Both saw the importance, however.

"It's scary - if it were to really happen," Jamie said. "But I think it's a good thing for the kids to see."

Contact Dennis Magee at (319) 291-1451 or dennis.magee@wcfcourier.com.