Eastland community members took the plunge into the Community Pool to raise awareness and donate canned goods for the local food bank.

Residents contributed two cans each for the cause, which allows the food pantry to stock up after being mostly depleted during the holidays.

Among the participants was Eastland Mayor Larry Vernon, who shared his experience with the plunge.

“It felt a little nervous going into it,” Mayor Vernon said. “Once I hit it, it was very cold. The water was probably down to 40 degrees, and outside it was 41 degrees, but it felt like 32. Everyone was getting out of the water; you could tell it was cold,” Vernon said. “I was worried about icicles forming, so I changed out of my wet clothes as quickly as I could. I even asked ChatGPT for tips on preparing myself, and it said to get warm as quickly as possible, so I did.”

About 50 people participated in the event, according to the Eastland County Food Pantry.

The University of Texas at Austin has been ranked No. 1 in the nation for research funded by the National Science Foundation in 2025.

UT-Austin was also ranked No. 5 in research for the Department of War and No. 6 for research conducted for the Department of Energy.

The new rankings, which reflect UT Austin’s leadership position among the world’s most productive and impactful research universities, are based on the newly released Higher Education Research and Development (HERD) Survey for fiscal year 2024. UT conducted $176.4 million in research funded by the NSF in 2024.

NSF, DOD and DOE funding supports UT’s science and engineering discoveries that improve and save lives, strengthen national security, and fuel economic prosperity and competitiveness.

UT has consistently maintained top 10 rankings for NSF, DOD and DOE funding during the past five years and last ranked No. 1 in NSF expenditures in FY20. More than 75% of externally funded research conducted at UT is financed by federal agencies.