The Ancram Town Board is considering a switch to LED street lights, and holds a public hearing on the issue Thu., Jan. 21. Central Hudson Gas and Electric Company wants the Ancram Town Board to change the town’s 31 street lights from sodium or mercury vapor lights to LEDs, or light emitting diodes. The town could change the street lights individually as they go out over the next 10 years at a cost of $142 for each light or change all the lights now at one time at a cost of $3,500, saving $2,300 in the long run. But some residents at recent town meetings cited articles claiming the blue LED lights were too bright, and impair night vision. Ancram Conservation Advisory Council member and resident Kim Tripp told the board that nocturnal animals interpret the LEDs as daylight, interrupting their life cycles. “This is either a really good idea or a really bad idea,” Supervisor Art Bassin said in December. The Ancram public hearing on the LED lights is at 6:30 p.m., Jan. 21 at the Ancram Town Hall, 1416 County Route 7 in Ancram.