Bells will toll in memoriam. Crowds will gather at ceremonies. Names of the dead will be recited one by one.

Nearly a quarter century after almost 3,000 people died when al-Qaeda, an Islamist extremist group hijacked jetliners that crashed into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania…a region, a nation and the world will mark another anniversary of what happened 24 years ago today…on Sept. 11, 2001.

Matthew Chayes reports in NEWSDAY that even as memories fade and the date itself recedes into the past, more and more first responders and others who lived, worked or studied near the rubble in the months after are getting sick and dying from the airborne toxins unleashed by the explosions.

Approximately 497 Long Islanders have died as a result of the 9/11 attacks.

Nearly three dozen ceremonies have been scheduled for today through Nassau and Suffolk counties.

Here's a list of some commemorations across the east end:

• The Town of Riverhead will host a prayer ceremony to honor the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks at 10 a.m. at the Riverhead World Trade Center Memorial Park at the corner of Riley and Edwards Avenues in Calverton.
• This evening, the Sound Park Heights Civic Association will host its annual Candlelight Walk and Remembrance. A procession will begin at 6:00 p.m. from Marine Street in Reeves Park and proceed to the 9/11 Memorial Park on Sound Avenue.
• The Flanders Fire Department also holds an annual memorial service at the Flanders Memorial Park on Flanders Road and Fanning Road at 6:30 p.m.
• The Southold Town Fire Chiefs’ Council’s Southold Town Firefighters’ Memorial and Remembrance Ceremony will be held today at Jean Cochran Park on Peconic Lane in Peconic. Attendees will gather beginning at 5 p.m., with the official ceremonies starting at 6 p.m.
• The Southold 9/11 Memorial Committee and members of the community place 2,977 American flags throughout the park prior to the ceremony in honor of the people who were killed in the terrorist attacks.

During the ceremony, members of the Mattituck, Cutchogue, Southold, Greenport, East Marion, Orient, Plum Island, Fishers Island, and Shelter Island Fire Departments will pay their respects and lay wreaths honoring the fallen.

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This coming Saturday, September 13, the Long Island Divers Association plans to dive down and explore the wreck of HMS Culloden, a British ship that ran aground near Montauk in 1781 while pursuing French blockade runners.

Jack Motz reports on 27east.com that all are welcome to attend Saturday’s event, but only certified divers — or those accompanied by a diving instructor — can take part in the dive. Divers will meet at 12:30 p.m. and enter the water during high tide at 2 p.m. this Saturday.

On January 23, 1781, HMS Culloden encountered severe weather conditions while trying to intercept the French ships, which were bound for Newport, Rhode Island. The ship ran aground at what is now known as Culloden Point. The crew made it off, but they were unable to save the ship.

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A Riverhead gun shop will be in violation of New York State law if it holds a rifle raffle next week to raise money for a high school volleyball team, a state Gaming Commission official said yesterday. Carl MacGowan reports in NEWSDAY that state law says only "religious, charitable and nonprofit organizations" are allowed to hold games and raffles to raise funds for charitable endeavors, according to gaming commission spokesman Brad Maione.

JJ Armory in Riverhead is raffling off a semiautomatic weapon to raise money for the Riverhead High School volleyball team. The drawing is to be held Sept. 20.

"This entity is not authorized," Maione said. "Any operation of a raffle [by an unauthorized company] is considered unlawful — even if well-intentioned."

The Riverhead...