Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels says state officials are checking other bridges built by the company responsible for a 6-year-old bridge over Interstate 80/94 that was closed this week for safety concerns.

Daniels made the remarks during a news conference Friday at the Statehouse.

The Indiana Department of Transportation closed the Martin Luther King Drive bridge in Gary this week. The agency says inspectors believe cracks found on the bridge’s concrete beams have compromised its load-bearing capacity.

An official for Superior Construction of Gary, which built the bridge, told the Times of Munster that the beams were not made by his firm but were bought from an Indiana manufacturer.

Indiana

South Bend sheriff to end term early

The sheriff of Indiana’s fifth-largest county is resigning this summer, six months before the end of his term.

St. Joseph County Sheriff Frank Canarecci told WNDU-TV of South Bend that he has decided to retire after 37 years in law enforcement and government.

Canarecci said he was frustrated with criticism he has faced over problems at the county jail, including the death of an inmate, a long investigation of a pepper-ball shooting and the alleged smuggling of drugs to inmates.

Canarecci is in his second four-year term as sheriff and couldn’t seek re-election. He says he’ll leave office June 30.

Democratic Party committee members will select someone to complete Canarecci’s term.

Family sues school over son’s hazing

The family of a boy who was allegedly sexually abused by members of a suburban Indianapolis high school basketball team plans to sue the school district for $2.2 million.

The tort claim was among documents released Friday by Carmel Clay school district.

Four Carmel High School basketball players were arrested this week on misdemeanor charges stemming from alleged assaults on three boys in the locker room and on a team bus.

Hamilton County Prosecutor Sonia Leerkamp said Monday that the alleged attacks went beyond hazing. Attorney Robert Turner said at least one of the alleged assaults involved anal penetration.

An attorney for one player says the teen has been “crucified” by community opinion since the allegations surfaced.

Franklin auto plant growing again

An auto parts factory in central Indiana plans to hire 65 additional workers over the next two years as it begins making a new component.

The plans come nearly a year after the Mitsubishi Heavy Industry Climate Control factory in Franklin laid off 87 employees following the bankruptcy of a customer.

Plant general manager Bob Francis says hiring is expected to start next year after about $9 million in new equipment is installed. The factory will then be making air compressors that help improve fuel efficiency.

Fort Wayne, others get bomb trucks

Emergency response agencies in Fort Wayne, Evansville and Indianapolis have received new bomb containment vehicles from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Sgt. Steve Evans of the Evansville Police Department’s bomb squad said a container mounted on a truck can is designed to safely hold devices and contain any explosions and chemical or biological agents.

They also have a sampling system to identify potentially hazardous agents.

The trucks cost about $370,000.

Prospective notaries must apply online

People who want to become notaries public in Indiana can now receive training and apply for state commissions online.

The Indiana secretary of state’s office has set up a website at www.in.gov/sos/business/2378.htm with applications and renewal forms as well as training modules.

Commissions and renewals now will be done exclusively online.

A notary public is a public officer of the state, authorized to certify documents, take affidavits and administer oaths. They are appointed for eight-year terms.

The secretary of state’s office says there are more than 80,000 notaries serving in Indiana.

Ohio

Century-old temple torched in Cleveland

A fire has destroyed a 103-year-old Masonic temple in Cleveland, and authorities have ruled it was arson.

The brick, four-story building was left in ruins by the fire Wednesday night.

The building hasn’t been used for gatherings in years because of unsafe conditions but was a storage site for documents, artifacts and paintings.

It has been owned since 1954 by Prince Hall, a black fraternal order whose members include former Cleveland Congressman Louis Stokes.

Store clerk charged with lottery fraud

Authorities say a service station clerk given two winning Ohio Lottery tickets by undercover agents said they were no good, but later claimed the $6,200 in prize money for himself.

Lottery spokesman Marie Kilbane says 55-year-old Mahmoud Ikhlayel of suburban Columbus is the first person charged under a new initiative to make sure lottery winners aren’t being cheated at retail counters.

The lottery says it had received complaints about Ikhlayel, who worked at a downtown Columbus gas station. The business cooperated in the sting.