MONROE, NC (WBTV)- Elgie Lee Gray, son of the late Butler Lee Gray and Georgianna Tate Gray, was born May 30, 1920 in Abbeville, SC. He went to be with the Lord on Thursday May 3, 2012 at the McWhorter Hospice House in Monroe, NC.

Funeral service will be at 1 p.m. Tuesday at Friendship Missionary Baptist Church . He will lie in repose from noon to 1 p.m. at the church.

Visitation will be Monday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the L. D. Grier Memorial Chapel.

Elgie enrolled in the United States Army in June 1943 and was among the forces that stormed Normandy during World War II and was awarded the Purple Heart for his service. After his military service, Elgie moved to Monroe, NC and started the Central Cab Company.

Also, he earned a degree from Friendship College in Rock Hill, SC. In 1955, Elgie became the first African American police officer in Monroe, NC. He advanced to become a Sergeant and retired in 1981.

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (WBTV/AP) - A bill aimed at improving coordination between law enforcement and community groups when a child disappears has passed Maryland's House and Senate.

The "Phylicia's Law" bill was named in memory of Union County teen Phylicia Barnes, who disappeared in 2010 while visiting Baltimore and was later found dead. It passed both chambers last week.

The bill requires state officials to publish a list of missing children and annual statistics. They may also keep a list of groups of volunteers to help with searches and local law enforcement must try to work with them.

Several laws around the country are named for high-profile missing children, but the Black and Missing Foundation says this bill named for Barnes, who was black, could be the first named for a missing minority child.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

UNION COUNTY - Union County Public Schools parents are invited to hear Phil Chalmers, America’s leading authority on juvenile homicide, speak on bullying, drug prevention and school safety during a two-hour presentation at Weddington High School in Weddington on April 18, 2012.

The 6 p.m. presentation is free and will be held in the Weddington High School auditorium, which is located on 4901 Weddington Road in Weddington.

Chalmers will speak frankly about the tragic shooting deaths in schools across the nation and the problems that result from bullying. He has interviewed more than 200 teen killers and school shooters and has studied youth culture and teenmurder for 25 years.