Dupre is very busy, he is not quitting the mod. He has other irl commitments that he needs to look to))
Don't worry, patches will continue after a minor shit is fixed which needs some help from the Donkeys (which is literally the only reason work has slowed down - you know how the old devs worked)
And since the above has #1 priority, handling community stuff like rewards should come after that. Or maybe not. Novamere has the right perspective, it will happen eventually.