‘A horrendous day for everyone’

200 at vigil for slain councillor

As many as 200 Almonte-area residents ignored frigid temperatures Thursday night to turn out at the Old Town Hall to express their shock and sorrow at the shooting death of Bernard Cameron.

Cameron, 65, a retired school teacher and councillor for Mississippi Mills, was shot and killed at his home on Strathburn Street on Thursday morning. His daughter, 28-year-old Sarah Cameron, who with her two children was staying with her parents, was wounded. Her former common-in-law partner, Travis Porteous, whom police have identified as the shooter, killed himself at the house.

At the vigil, Mississippi Mills Mayor Shaun McLaughlin speculated that when all the facts of the shooting are known, Bernard Cameron will be seen as a “hero” who tried to protect his daughter.

“My guess is he stepped in front (of the shooter), he got in the way and tried to stop it,” McLaughlin said, adding that such behaviour would have been typical of his council colleague.

Before inviting others in the crowd to come forward with their remembrances of Cameron, the mayor painting a portrait of him as a popular man with deep roots and attachments in the town. “He was one of those guys who had many tendrils throughout the community.

“Everything of cultural relevance, he was involved in. It won’t be easy to fill the gap.”

Such sentiments were heard frequently at the vigil. Cameron, several said, had over the years been involved in everything from the Boy Scouts and youth groups to community theatre, the arts, the library board and local heritage organizations.

“This has definitely rattled the community,” said Natalie Dalton, who shared an interest in theatre with Cameron.

“He always had a joke and smile when you met him,” said Bryan Kealey. “He was a big teddy bear of a man.”

“This has been a horrendous day for everyone. Everybody feels this,” said Gail Code, warden of Renfrew County.

“Mr. Cameron was a very community-minded person.”

Cameron grew up in Almonte after his family moved to the community, about 50 kilometres west of Ottawa, in 1955. Like many young people he left his hometown for work elsewhere, but returned as soon as he could.

He taught high school English in Chatham, Ont., for about 20 years before returning to the Ottawa Valley in 1993. After stints at schools in Smiths Falls and Perth, he taught at Almonte and District High School until his retirement in 2007.

Cameron’s brother-in-law, Michael Dalton, expressed his thanks for the turnout at the vigil. “We’re pleased to see the people here. The family appreciated it,” he said.

Dalton said that to his knowledge his niece, Sarah Cameron, while “exhausted,” is “awake and talking.”

His sister Catherine, meanwhile, is taking care of the children. “It’s going to be a rough couple of months.”