Supervisors remember late county employee

By Mike Chaldu · Wed Aug 26 2026

Gemma Salting, who died in Highway 41 accident earlier this month, worked in county's Social Services department

ATASCADERO — The San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors ended its Tuesday, Aug. 18, meeting by remembering a county employee who was killed a week earlier in a traffic accident on Highway 41 as a kind and exceptional person.

Gemma Salting, 58, of Atascadero, who died on Aug. 11, had worked for San Luis Obispo County for seven years as an employment/resource specialist with the Department of Social Services.

At Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting, County Director of Social Services Devin Drake spoke about Salting and the impact she had on her coworkers.

“Rarely, I believe, we have the opportunity to know someone so exceptional as Gemma,” Drake said.

Drake said he heard a consistent message from Salting’s coworkers when speaking with them about her.

“The themes were: She never had an unkind word to say about anybody, that if there was a conversation happening that may turn in that direction, she’d simply walk away. She was kind to the very core,” Drake said.

Drake said several coworkers told him Salting represented the kind of person they wanted to be.

“When we lose someone like that, it leaves a huge hole, but we’re also extremely blessed to have known someone like that,” he said.

The board, likewise expressed its sadness at Salting's death.

"That really hit hard when I heard about it," said Supervisor Dawn Ortiz-Legg after Drake's comments. "I'd like to express my condolences to the family after this stunning, tragic moment. I'm just broken-hearted over this."

After that Board Chairman Jimmy Paulding adjourned the meeting in Salting’s name.

On Aug. 11, Salting died after her 2021 Ford Ranger struck a large piece of equipment that had fallen from a trailer onto Highway 41 outside Morro Bay.

According to the California Highway Patrol, a 2024 Dodge Ram 3500 was traveling northbound on Highway 41, north of Torro Creek Road, when a large piece of equipment came loose from its trailer and landed in the southbound lanes. Salting, who was reportedly on her way to work, struck the equipment, causing her vehicle to lose control and travel down an embankment before crashing into a tree.

The driver of the Dodge reportedly turned around and returned to the scene. CHP said the collision remains under investigation and that drugs or alcohol do not appear to have been factors.

A GoFundMe campaign has also been established to support Salting’s husband, Danny, and son, Isaiah. As of Tuesday, Aug. 25, the fundraiser had collected over $10,000.

“What should have been a meaningful day of sending Isaiah off to his first day of college is now filled with unimaginable grief,” the fundraiser states.

The campaign said Danny and Isaiah are coping with Salting’s death while also facing the responsibilities and expenses associated with her sudden passing.

You can find the fundraiser at gofundme.com/f/support-danny-and-isaiah-salting

Before the remembrance of Salting, the supervisors went through a light agenda, beginning with proclamations honoring Capt. Stephanie Landgraf on her retirement after 15 years with the Sheriff’s Office Correctional Division; designating August 2026 as "Child Support Awareness Month"; and recognizing the Performing Arts Center San Luis Obispo and the Foundation for the Performing Arts Center upon their respective 30-year anniversaries in 2026.

The first business item at the meeting was the most debated, as the board voted on sending $25,000 to Santa Cruz County for its participation in the Save the Coast Coalition, and the "support coordination of efforts to oppose offshore drilling and seabed mining, and take related action as appropriate."

County Executive Office Administrator Bill Lucia recommended approval, saying it was "consistent with the recent Board-adopted resolution on offshore oil drilling and seabed mining, and any other direction deemed appropriate."

However, two speakers voiced their opposition during public comment.

Greg Haskin, executive director of San Luis Obispo County COLAB, questioned the logic of sending money to another county for a cause.

"This is a challenging budgeting year, and sending $25,000 to Santa Cruz County is not a wise use of taxpayer funds," Haskin said. "If this is such a great cause, hold a fundraiser and send that money to Santa Cruz County. We need taxpayer dollars to provide services here."

Atascadero resident Gary Kirkland, speaking on Zoom, agreed, saying the payment was "a misuse of public funds."

While Paulding and fellow Supervisor Bruce Gibson expressed their support for the payment, citing the county's history of opposing offshore drilling and seabed mining, while John Peschong and Heather Moreno said they could not support the item.

"We don't support offshore drilling, but advocacy can be done without sending money to Santa Cruz," Moreno said.

Gibson moved to approve the payment, and the item passed with Dawn Ortiz-Legg voting yes along with Gibson and Paulding, and Peschong and Moreno dissenting.

The board also unanimously passed a resolution authorizing the issuance and sale of the SLO County Financing Authority Nacimiento Water Project Revenue Refunding Bonds, and also received and filed the Title 29 Affordable Housing Fund Annual Report for 2025-26.

The Board of Supervisors will meet next on Tuesday, Sept. 1, at 9 a.m.

Feature Image: In this undated photo, San Luis Obispo County employee Gemma Salting (left) is shown with her son Isaiah (center), and husband Danny. The San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors paused to remember Salting, who died in an Aug. 11 vehicle crash, during its Aug. 18, and a GoFundMe has been started for her family. Photo from GoFundMe.com