sheriff's office

Prompted by this recent article that I read in the N&O about Sheriff's office I decided to see what all of you think about the responsibilities of a sheriff are.

The first question that seems to be posed by the article is whether or not a sheriff should be a law enforcement officer. Most states, if not all, have the requirement that the Attorney General be a lawyer. So, should there be a similar requirement for sheriff?

I think the bigger question that the article doesnt really address, but needs to be answered, is, what exactly is the job of a sheriff? Are they a police chief (a general on a smaller scale)? Or are they an administrator much closer to a mayor in terms of duties? Or is there some combination of these two?