Latest news with #PaulWelch
Washington Post
14-07-2025
- General
- Washington Post
Armies of Texas volunteers dig out, clean up, after fatal floods
COMFORT, Texas — It began with a stranger asking 'Do you need help?' 'Yes,' Paul Welch told the man in a pickup truck, 'I desperately need some help.' A day later, dozens of people pulled up outside the modest cabin where Welch and his partner lived overlooking the Guadalupe River until Texas' July 4 floods .
The Independent
14-07-2025
- General
- The Independent
Armies of Texas volunteers dig out, clean up, after fatal floods
It began with a stranger asking 'Do you need help?' 'Yes,' Paul Welch told the man in a pickup truck, 'I desperately need some help." A day later, dozens of people pulled up outside the modest cabin where Welch and his partner lived overlooking the Guadalupe River until Texas' July 4 floods. The devastated property looked like a construction site Saturday after operators started clearing debris with mini-excavators and skid steers. An Army unit from Fort Hood scraped mud out of the cabin while other people tore down drywall. A Bible study group from San Antonio hand-washed tools from Welch's barn. His niece carefully wiped old negatives, hoping to preserve some of the couple's memories. Texans are leading flood recovery even as more flooding hits and the search for the missing continues. Mass cleanup across Kerr County — about 1.5 hours northwest of San Antonio — came Saturday before heavy rain pelted the region again on Sunday. For Welch and Elizabeth Hastings, the July 4 floods sent water to their ceiling, wiped out their RV and ruined most of the items in their barn. "Up until yesterday, it was pretty bleak,' he said. Then, Welch said the man in the truck — Huntly Dantzler of Fredericksburg, 20 miles away — 'he showed up.' 'I thought that is just too good to be true," Welch said. "We have hope now.' One ruined home In many places, volunteer labor includes debris removal and remediation often done by hired contractors and out of reach for households lacking insurance. Many survivors said it was simply too expensive. 'It's impossible here in the floodplain,' Welch said. 'Paying $10,000 a year for flood insurance doesn't make sense.' The survivors who spoke with The Associated Press said they didn't have insurance but had already applied for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. That money is rarely enough to cover all the costs of replacing, remediating and rebuilding and only 116 FEMA applications were approved as of Sunday. Meeting post-disaster Many of those working together didn't know each other before the disaster — they've connected over social media, in public spaces or just by driving around looking for places to help. 'There's thousands of volunteers out here, more than needed, honestly. It's wild, and everyone is just lending a hand,' said Dave Isaacs, who came from San Antonio with his wife and daughter to help. Three people arrived at Daniel Olivas' home in Guadalupe Street in Kerrville last week with a skid steer and an excavator to clear debris. Water from the Guadalupe River overtook his house on July 4, leaving fish and crawdads floating in the bedrooms. Soon after, "33 angels descended' onto the property, said Olivas, removing furniture, scrubbing floors, and tearing out drywall. 'It's just amazing because I didn't ask for it,' said Olivas. 'They just showed up.' Some even insisted on leaving him cash, stuffing it into his pocket when he resisted. The help has come from businesses, too. The RV seller Camping World donated a pre-owned RV for Welch and Hastings to sleep in as long as they need. A plumbing company installed a new water treatment system for their neighbor for free. 'We're all heartbroken, and everyone's just pitching in,' said Monica Watson, a hopsice worker helping Olivas' neighbor, an older man who depended on a wheelchair. 'He was just waiting for help,' she said. She said she had no connection to her collaborators other than a shared desire to contribute. 'One guy just said 'I'm Ben, I have a Bobcat (tractor),' and that was it,'' she said. A woman drove by asking if they needed another trailer to haul away trash, and returned with one minutes later. Volunteering helps everyone Volunteering can help people cope with trauma, said Dr. Adrienne Heinz, a clinical research psychologist at Stanford University and an expert in post-traumatic stress. 'When something awful happens, a powerful human response can occur called 'purposing,'' said Heinz. 'This is when we rise to meet moments of sorrow and adversity with action that is meaningful and values-aligned.' Purposing 'offers a buffer against hopelessness and despair and can set the stage for post-traumatic growth and transformational resilience,' said Heinz. For those impacted, seeing the care flow in from all over the world is also healing. 'I cannot express how much I appreciate everything that they have done for us,' said Colleen Lucas of Ingram, as staff with the international charity Operation Blessing helped her husband, Dave, repair one of their cars that had been submerged in water. The staff members from Mexico, Honduras and Chile, along with 42 members of Oak Hills Church in San Antonio, hauled out Lucas' destroyed belongings and packed and stored their salvageable items. She is unsure whether her home will need to be demolished, or how and when they will rebuild. But she's already thinking about how to pay forward the help they got. 'We lost a lot but we're going to be donating when we're up and going,' she said. —— Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of AP's philanthropy coverage, visit
Associated Press
14-07-2025
- General
- Associated Press
Armies of Texas volunteers dig out, clean up, after fatal floods
COMFORT, Texas (AP) — It began with a stranger asking 'Do you need help?' 'Yes,' Paul Welch told the man in a pickup truck, 'I desperately need some help.' A day later, dozens of people pulled up outside the modest cabin where Welch and his partner lived overlooking the Guadalupe River until Texas' July 4 floods. The devastated property looked like a construction site Saturday after operators started clearing debris with mini-excavators and skid steers. An Army unit from Fort Hood scraped mud out of the cabin while other people tore down drywall. A Bible study group from San Antonio hand-washed tools from Welch's barn. His niece carefully wiped old negatives, hoping to preserve some of the couple's memories. Texans are leading flood recovery even as more flooding hits and the search for the missing continues. Mass cleanup across Kerr County — about 1.5 hours northwest of San Antonio — came Saturday before heavy rain pelted the region again on Sunday. For Welch and Elizabeth Hastings, the July 4 floods sent water to their ceiling, wiped out their RV and ruined most of the items in their barn. 'Up until yesterday, it was pretty bleak,' he said. Then, Welch said the man in the truck — Huntly Dantzler of Fredericksburg, 20 miles away — 'he showed up.' 'I thought that is just too good to be true,' Welch said. 'We have hope now.' One ruined home In many places, volunteer labor includes debris removal and remediation often done by hired contractors and out of reach for households lacking insurance. Many survivors said it was simply too expensive. 'It's impossible here in the floodplain,' Welch said. 'Paying $10,000 a year for flood insurance doesn't make sense.' The survivors who spoke with The Associated Press said they didn't have insurance but had already applied for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. That money is rarely enough to cover all the costs of replacing, remediating and rebuilding and only 116 FEMA applications were approved as of Sunday. Meeting post-disaster Many of those working together didn't know each other before the disaster — they've connected over social media, in public spaces or just by driving around looking for places to help. 'There's thousands of volunteers out here, more than needed, honestly. It's wild, and everyone is just lending a hand,' said Dave Isaacs, who came from San Antonio with his wife and daughter to help. Three people arrived at Daniel Olivas' home in Guadalupe Street in Kerrville last week with a skid steer and an excavator to clear debris. Water from the Guadalupe River overtook his house on July 4, leaving fish and crawdads floating in the bedrooms. Soon after, '33 angels descended' onto the property, said Olivas, removing furniture, scrubbing floors, and tearing out drywall. 'It's just amazing because I didn't ask for it,' said Olivas. 'They just showed up.' Some even insisted on leaving him cash, stuffing it into his pocket when he resisted. The help has come from businesses, too. The RV seller Camping World donated a pre-owned RV for Welch and Hastings to sleep in as long as they need. A plumbing company installed a new water treatment system for their neighbor for free. 'We're all heartbroken, and everyone's just pitching in,' said Monica Watson, a hopsice worker helping Olivas' neighbor, an older man who depended on a wheelchair. 'He was just waiting for help,' she said. She said she had no connection to her collaborators other than a shared desire to contribute. 'One guy just said 'I'm Ben, I have a Bobcat (tractor),' and that was it,'' she said. A woman drove by asking if they needed another trailer to haul away trash, and returned with one minutes later. Volunteering helps everyone Volunteering can help people cope with trauma, said Dr. Adrienne Heinz, a clinical research psychologist at Stanford University and an expert in post-traumatic stress. 'When something awful happens, a powerful human response can occur called 'purposing,'' said Heinz. 'This is when we rise to meet moments of sorrow and adversity with action that is meaningful and values-aligned.' Purposing 'offers a buffer against hopelessness and despair and can set the stage for post-traumatic growth and transformational resilience,' said Heinz. For those impacted, seeing the care flow in from all over the world is also healing. 'I cannot express how much I appreciate everything that they have done for us,' said Colleen Lucas of Ingram, as staff with the international charity Operation Blessing helped her husband, Dave, repair one of their cars that had been submerged in water. The staff members from Mexico, Honduras and Chile, along with 42 members of Oak Hills Church in San Antonio, hauled out Lucas' destroyed belongings and packed and stored their salvageable items. She is unsure whether her home will need to be demolished, or how and when they will rebuild. But she's already thinking about how to pay forward the help they got. 'We lost a lot but we're going to be donating when we're up and going,' she said. —— Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of AP's philanthropy coverage, visit
Daily Mail
23-06-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
SMALL CAP IDEA: Nostra Terra's 'pragmatic' turnaround
When Paul Welch took over as chief executive of Nostra Terra Oil and Gas Company little over a year ago, he faced a simple but daunting task: Transform a stagnating business into a profitable, growth-focused enterprise. Thirteen months on, Welch's approach, combining prudent cost management, targeted investments, and disciplined project execution, is starting to bear fruit. The AIM-listed oil junior operates the Pine Mills field in East Texas, a conventional oil asset acquired back in 2016 for $1.2million. Production from Pine Mills had dwindled significantly, dropping from an average of 107 barrels per day (b/d) in 2019 to just 54 b/d in early 2024, due largely to underinvestment. Swift changes, low cost Welch's new management team swiftly implemented a low-cost 'quick-cycle' workover programme, reviving 10 idle wells at a modest outlay of around $1million. This relatively small investment nearly doubled production, lifting current output to about 130 b/d, with ambitions to push this further towards 150 b/d. What makes Pine Mills particularly appealing is its economics. At oil prices above US$25 per barrel, the field generates robust cash flows, leaving Nostra Terra comfortably profitable even during periods of volatile oil prices. SP Angel, the broker behind the latest coverage initiation, expects Nostra Terra to generate $1.4million in EBITDA by 2026, based on conservative WTI oil price forecasts of $67 per barrel. This positive cash flow underpins further growth initiatives, meaning investors shouldn't anticipate frequent equity raises diluting existing shareholders. Looking ahead, the company plans to drill the Fouke-3 development well in the third quarter of 2025. Right risk-reward Located within Pine Mills, Fouke-3 promises an attractive risk-reward profile: The well could produce up to 124 b/d, with payback expected within just a few months. SP Angel attributes a one-in-two chance of success to Fouke-3, which, alongside the restarted enhanced oil recovery programme (waterflood), offers substantial near-term upside. Moreover, Welch is not shy about his ambition to scale Nostra Terra via acquisitions. East Texas remains an active market for mergers and acquisitions, particularly with smaller, undercapitalised operators who might find themselves struggling in tougher price environments. Consolidating these assets could help Nostra Terra achieve its long-term goal of hitting production levels closer to 5,000 b/d over the next three to five years. Confident buy For now, SP Angel has initiated coverage on Nostra Terra with a confident 'buy' recommendation and sets a twelve-month price target at 0.06p per share, representing a compelling upside of just under 320 per cent from current levels. Given that Nostra Terra currently trades at just 0.013p per share, this target reflects the broker's conviction that the company's existing reserves alone justify a far higher valuation. In short, Nostra Terra's turnaround under new management offers UK investors direct exposure to a small-cap oil story with attractive cash flow, near-term production catalysts, and substantial upside potential through strategic acquisitions. While the path from here requires careful navigation, Welch's experienced leadership and pragmatic strategy suggest Nostra Terra could indeed deliver on its promise.
Malaysian Reserve
18-06-2025
- Business
- Malaysian Reserve
Leidos to deliver seamless, secure data sharing across Department of Defense mission networks
RESTON, Va., June 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — By modernizing the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) tools that transfer critical data between classified and unclassified networks, Leidos (NYSE: LDOS) will help accelerate decision making across the Department of Defense (DoD). Under a five-year, $35 million award for the Cross-Domain Enterprise Services program, Leidos will integrate the design, engineering and operations of DISA's data-sharing platform to enable faster, more agile mission performance. 'Modern defense missions, driven by joint operations and real-time coordination, depend on the ability to transfer data across networks without delay or compromise,' said Paul Welch, vice president and division manager at Leidos. 'Our decades of expertise uniquely position us to deliver secure, scalable technology designed to support data reaching the right users at the right time.' This work demonstrates Leidos is a long-standing, critical partner to DISA in operating, sustaining and defending the DoD's enterprise network, which enables every U.S. defense mission globally. The award is part of a Systems Engineering Technology and Innovation indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract. About Leidos Leidos is an industry and technology leader serving government and commercial customers with smarter, more efficient digital and mission innovations. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, with 47,000 global employees, Leidos reported annual revenues of approximately $16.7 billion for the fiscal year ended January 3, 2025. For more information, visit Certain statements in this announcement constitute 'forward-looking statements' within the meaning of the rules and regulations of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). These statements are based on management's current beliefs and expectations and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. These statements are not guarantees of future results or occurrences. A number of factors could cause our actual results, performance, achievements, or industry results to be different from the results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited to, the 'Risk Factors' set forth in Leidos' Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 3, 2025, and other such filings that Leidos makes with the SEC from time to time. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. Leidos does not undertake to update forward-looking statements to reflect the impact of circumstances or events that arise after the date the forward-looking statements were made. Media Contacts Brandon Ver Velde(571)
