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YOUNGEST GRAND MARSHAL IN LOCAL PARADE HISTORY – Young Author Ashton Bland made history on Monday, January 15, as he became the youngest grand marshal in the history of the Mount Vernon Martin Luther King Jr. Day Parade. Last year, 13-year-old Bland published his first book, which shared a story of a time he and a friend planned to sneak out of their house and the lessons learned from that situation. Since then, Bland has been speaking to audiences across the area about making good decisions and his book.